! 


"CSB  LIBRARY 


RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 


Books  by  Grace  S.  Richmond 


A  COURT  OF  INQUIRY 

FOURSQUARE 

MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

RED  AND  BLACK 

RED  PEPPER  BURNS 

RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

ROUND  THE  CORNER  IN  GAY  STREET 

STRAWBERRY  ACRES 

THE  BROWN  STUDY 

THE  INDIFFERENCE  OF  JULIET 

THE  SECOND  VIOLIN 

TWENTY-FOURTH  OF  JUNE 

UNDER  THE  COUNTRY  SKY 

WITH  JULIET  IN  ENGLAND 


SHORT  STORIES  IN  SMALL  BOOK  FORM 


BROTHERLY  HOUSE 

ON  CHRISTMAS  DAY  IN  THE  EVENING 

ON  CHRISTMAS  DAY  IN  THE  MORNING 

THE  BELLS  OF  ST.  JOHN'S 

THE  ENLISTING  WIFE 

THE  WHISTLING  MOTHER 

UNDER  THE  CHRISTMAS  STARS 


"Red  Pepper"  Burns,  M.  D. 


Red    Pepper's 
Patients 


With  an  Account  of  Anne 
Linton's  Case  in  Particular 


By  GRACE  S.  RICHMOND 

AUTHOR  OF 

"Red  Pepper  Burns,"      "Mrs.   Red  Pepper,** 

"The    Twenty-Fourth    of    June," 

"The  Brown  Study, ' '     Etc. 


A.  L.  BURT  COMPANY 
Publishers  New  York 

Published  by  arrangement  with   DOUELEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

AT 
THE  COUNTRY  LIFE  FRE88,  GARDEN  CITY,  H.  T. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.  AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION     .  3 

II.  LITTLE  HUNGARY 26 

III.  ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE      .  54 

IV.  Two  RED  HEADS 65 

V.  SUSQUEHANNA 8l 

VI.  HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS   ....  102 

VII.  WHITE  LILACS .      .  118 

VIII.  EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS       ....  133 

IX.  JORDAN  Is  A  MAN 150 

X.  THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE    .      .  162 

XL  THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE      .      .      .  ;  175 

XII.  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  190 

XIII.  RED  HEADED  AGAIN     .      .      .      .213 

XIV.  A  STRANGE  DAY 222 

XV.  CLEAKED  DECKS 234 

XVI.  WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  ....  249 

XVII.  RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        .      .  264 


RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 


RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

CHAPTER  I 
AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION 

THE  man  in  the  silk-lined,  London-made 
overcoat,  holding  his  hat  firmly  on  his 
head  lest  the  January  wind  send  its  ex 
pensive  perfection  into  the  gutter,  paused  to  ask 
his  way  of  the  man  with  no  overcoat,  his  hands 
shoved  into  his  ragged  pockets,  his  shapeless  head 
gear  crowded  down  over  his  eyes,  red  and  bleary 
?vith  the  piercing  wind. 

"*  Burns  ? "  repeated  the  second  man  to  the  ques 
tion  of  the  first.  "Doc  Burns?  Sure!  Next 
house  beyond  the  corner — the  brick  one."  He 
turned  to  point.  "Tell  it  by  the  rigs  hitched. 
It's  his  office  hours.  You'll  do  some  waitin*, 
tell  ye  that." 

The  questioner  smiled — a  slightly  superior  smile. 
"Thank  you,"  he  said,  and  passed  on.  He  arrived 
at  the  corner  and  paused  briefly,  considering  the 
row  of  vehicles  in  front  of  the  old,  low-lying  brick 
house  with  its  comfortable,  white-pillared  porches. 

3 


4  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

The  row  was  indeed  a  formidable  one  and  suggested 
many  waiting  people  within  the  house.  But  after 
an  instant's  hesitation  he  turned  up  the  gravel 
path  toward  the  wing  of  the  house  upon  whose 
door  could  be  seen  the  lettering  of  an  inconspicuous 
sign.  As  he  came  near  he  made  out  that  the  sign 
read  "R.  P.  Burns,  M.D.,"  and  that  the  table  of 
office  hours  below  set  forth  that  the  present  hour 
was  one  of  those  designated. 

"I'll  get  a  line  on  your  practice,  Red,"  said  the 
stranger  to  himself,  and  laid  hand  upon  the  door 
bell.  "  Incidentally,  perhaps,  I'll  get  a  line  on  why 
you  stick  to  a  small  suburban  town  like  this  when 
you  might  be  in  the  thick  of  things.  A  fellow 
whom  I've  twice  met  in  Vienna,  too.  I  can'f 
understand  it." 

A  fair-haired  young  woman  in  a  white  uniform 
and  cap  admitted  the  newcomer  and  pointed  him 
to  the  one  chair  left  unoccupied  in  the  large  and 
crowded  waiting-room.  It  was  a  pleasant  room, 
in  a  well-worn  sort  of  way,  and  the  blazing  wood 
fire  in  a  sturdy  fireplace,  the  rows  of  dull-toned 
books  cramming  a  solid  phalanx  of  bookcases,  and 
a  number  of  interesting  old  prints  on  the  walls 
gave  it,  as  the  stranger,  lifting  critical  eyes,  was 
obliged  to  admit  to  himself,  a  curious  air  of  dig 
nity  in  spite  of  the  mingled  atmosphere  of  drugs 
3Jid  patients  which  assailed  his  fastidious  nostrils. 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION      5 

As  for  the  patients  themselves,  since  they  were  all 
about  him,  he  could  hardly  do  less  than  observe 
them,  although  he  helped  himself  to  a  late  mag 
azine  from  a  well-filled  table  at  his  side  and  mechan 
ically  turned  its  pages. 

The  first  to  claim  his  attention  was  a  little  girl  at 
his  elbow.  She  could  hardly  fail  to  catch  his  eye} 
she  was  so  conspicuous  with  bandages.  One  eye, 
one  cheek,  the  whole  of  her  neck,  and  both  her 
hands  were  swathed  in  white,  but  the  other  cheek 
was  rosy,  and  the  uncovered  eye  twinkled  bravely 
as  she  smiled  at  the  stranger.  "I  was  burned,'* 
she  said  proudly. 

"I  see,"  returned  the  stranger,  speaking  very 
low,  for  he  was  conscious  that  the  entire  roomful  of 
people  was  listening.  "And  you  are  getting 
better?" 

"Oh,  yes!"  exulted  the  child.  "Doctor's  making 
me  have  new  skin.  He  gets  me  more  new  skin  every 
day.  I  didn't  have  any  at  all.  It  was  all  burned 
off." 

"That's  very  good  of  him,"  murmured  the 
stranger. 

"He's  awful  good,"  said  the  child,  "when  he  :.sn't 
cross.  He  isn't  ever  cross  to  me,  Doctor  isn't." 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  amusement  in 
the  room,  and  another  child,  not  far  away,  laughed 
aloud.  The  stranger  furtively  scratinized  the 


6  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

other  patients  one  by  one,  lifting  apparently  casual 
glances  from  behind  his  magazine.  Several,  pre 
sumably  the  owners  of  the  vehicles  outside,  were  of 
the  typical  village  type,  but  there  were  others  more 
sophisticated,  and  several  who  were  palpably  per 
sons  of  wealth.  One  late  comer  was  admitted  who 
left  a  luxuriously  appointed  motor  across  the  street, 
and  brought  in  with  her  an  atmosphere  of  costly 
furs  and  violets  and  fresh  air. 

"Certainly  a  mixed  crowd,"  said  the  stranger  to 
himself  behind  his  magazine;  "but  not  so  different, 
after  all,  from  most  doctors'  waiting-room  crowds. 
I  might  send  in  a  card,  but,  if  I  remember  Red,  it 
Wouldn't  get  me  anything — and  this  is  rather 
interesting  anyhow.  I'll  wait." 

He  waited,  for  he  wished  the  waiting  room  to  be 
clear  when  he  should  approach  that  busy  consulting 
room  beyond.  Meanwhile,  people  came  and  went. 
The  door  into  the  inner  room  would  swing  open,  a 
patient  would  emerge,  a  curt  but  pleasant  "Good 
bye  "  in  a  deep  voice  following  him  or  her  out,  and 
the  fair-haired  nurse,  who  sat  at  a  desk  near  the 
door  or  came  out  of  the  consulting  room  with  the 
patient,  would  summon  the  next.  The  lady  of  the 
furs  and  violets  sent  in  her  card,  but,  as  the  stranger 
had  anticipated  in  his  own  case,  it  procured  her 
no  more  than  an  assurance  from  the  nurse  that 
Doctor  Burns  would  see  her  in  due  course.  Since 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION     7 

he  wanted  the  coast  clear  the  stranger,  when  at 
last  his  turn  arrived,  politely  waived  his  rights, 
sent  the  furs  and  violets  in  before  him,  and  sat  alone 
with  the  nurse  in  the  cleared  waiting  room. 

A  comparatively  short  period  of  time  elapsed 
before  the  consulting-room  door  opened  once  more. 
But  it  closed  again— almost — and  a  few  words 
reached  the  outer  room. 

"Oh,  but  you're  hard — hard,  Doctor  Burns!  I 
simply  can't  do  it,"  said  a  plaintive  voice. 

"Then  don't  expect  me  to  accomplish  anything. 
It's  up  to  you — absolutely,"  replied  a  brusque 
voice,  which  then  softened  slightly  as  it  added: 
"Cheer  up.  You  can,  you  know.  Good-bye." 

The  patient  came  out,  her  lips  set,  her  eyes  low 
ered,  and  left  the  office  as  if  she  wanted  nothing  so 
much  as  to  get  away.  The  nurse  rose  and  began  to 
say  that  Doctor  Burns  would  now  see  his  one  re 
maining  caller,  but  at  that  moment  Doctor  Burns 
himself  appeared  in  the  doorway,  glanced  at  the 
stranger,  who  had  risen,  smiling — and  the  need  for 
an  intermediary  between  physician  and  patient 
vanished  before  the  onslaught  of  the  physician  him 
self. 

"My  word!  Gardner  Coolidge!  Well,  well — if 
this  isn't  the  greatest  thing  on  earth.  My  dear 
fellow!" 

The  stranger,  no  longer  a  stranger,  with  his  hand 


8  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

being  wrung  like  that,  with  his  eyes  being  looked 
into  by  a  pair  of  glowing  hazel  eyes  beneath  a  heavy 
thatch  of  well-remembered  coppery  hair,  returned 
this  demonstration  of  affection  with  equal  fervour. 

"I've  been  sitting  in  your  stuffy  waiting  room, 
Red,  till  the  entire  population  of  this  town  should 
tell  you  its  aches,  just  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
with  the  professional  manner  off." 

Burns  threw  back  his  head  and  laughed,  with  a 
gesture  as  of  flinging  something  aside.  "It's  off 
then,  Cooly — if  I  have  one.  I  didn't  know  I  had. 
How  are  you  ?  Man,  but  it's  good  to  see  you !  Come 
along  out  of  this  into  a  place  that's  not  stuffy. 
Where's  your  bag?  You  didn't  leave  it  any 
where  ? " 

"  I  can't  stay,  Red — really  I  can't.  Not  this  time. 
I  must  go  to-night.  And  I  came  to  consult  you 
professionally — so  let's  get  that  over  first." 

"Of  course.  Just  let  me  speak  a  word  to  the 
authorities.  You'll  at  least  be  here  for  dinner? 
Step  into  the  next  room,  Cooly.  On  your  way 
let  me  present  you  to  my  assistant,  Miss  Mathew- 
son,  whom  I  couldn't  do  without.  Mr.  Cooiidge, 
Miss  Mathewson." 

Gardner  Cooiidge  bowed  to  the  office  nurse, 
whom  he  had  already  classified  as  a  very  attrac 
tively  superior  person  and  well  worth  a  good  salary; 
then  went  on  into  the  consulting  room,  where  an 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION     9 

open  window  had  freshened  the  small  place  beyond 
any  possibility  of  its  being  called  stuffy.  As  he 
closed  the  window  with  a  shiver  and  looked  about 
him,  glancing  into  the  white-tiled  surgery  beyond, 
he  recognized  the  fact  that,  though  he  might  be 
in  the  workshop  of  a  village  practitioner,  it  was  a 
workshop  which  did  not  lack  the  tools  of  the 
workman  thoroughly  abreast  of  the  times. 

Burns  came  back,  his  face  bright  with  pleasure 
in  the  unexpected  appearance  of  his  friend.  He 
stood  looking  across  the  small  room  at  Coolidge, 
as  if  he  could  get  a  better  view  of  the  whole  man  at 
a  little  distance.  The  two  men  were  a  decided 
contrast  to  each  other.  Redfield  Pepper  Burns, 
known  to  all  his  intimates,  and  to  many  more  who 
would  not  have  ventured  to  call  him  by  that  title, 
as  "Red  Pepper  Burns,"  on  account  of  the  com 
bination  of  red  head,  quick  temper,  and  wit  which 
were  his  most  distinguishing  characteristics  of 
body  and  mind,  was  a  stalwart  fellow  whose  weight 
was  effectually  kept  down  by  his  activity.  His 
white  linen  office  jacket  was  filled  by  powerful 
shoulders,  and  the  perfectly  kept  hands  of  the 
surgeon  gave  evidence,  as  such  hands  do,  of  their 
delicacy  of  touch,  in  the  very  way  in  which  Burns 
closed  the  door  behind  him. 

Gardner  Coolidge  was  of  a  different  type  alto 
gether.  As  tall  as  Burns,  he  looked  taller  because 


io  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

of  his  slender  figure  and  the  distinctive  outlines 
of  his  careful  dress.  His  face  was  dark  and  rather 
thin,  showing  sensitive  lines  about  the  eyes  and 
mouth,  and  a  tendency  to  melancholy  in  the  eyes 
themselves,  even  when  lighted  by  a  smile,  as  now. 
He  was  manifestly  the  man  of  worldly  experience, 
with  fastidious  tastes,  and  presumably  one  who 
did  not  accept  the  rest  of  mankind  as  comrades 
until  proved  and  chosen. 

"So  it's  my  services  you  want?"  questioned 
Burns.  "If  that's  the  case,  then  it's  here  you  sit." 

"  Face  to  the  light,  of  course,"  objected  Coolidge 
with  a  grimace.  "I  wonder  if  you  doctors  know 
what  a  moral  advantage  as  well  as  a  physical  one 
that  gives  you." 

"Of  course.  The  moral  advantage  is  the  one 
we  need  most.  Anybody  can  see  when  a  skin  is 
jaundiced;  but  only  by  virtue  of  that  moral  stand 
point  can  we  detect  the  soul  out  of  order.  And 
that's  the  matter  with  you,  Cooly." 

"What!"  Coolidge  looked  startled.  "I  knew 
you  were  a  man  who  jumped  to  conclusions  in  the 
old  days " 

"And  acted  on  them,  too,"  admitted  Burns. 
"I  should  say  I  did.  And  got  myself  into  many  a 
scrape  thereby,  of  course.  Well,  I  jump  to  con 
clusions  now,  in  just  the  same  way,  only  perhaps 
with  a  bit  more  understanding  of  the  ground  I 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    11 

jump  on.  However,  tell  me  your  symptoms  in 
orthodox  style,  please,  then  we'll  have  them  out  of 
the  way." 

Coolidge  related  them  somewhat  reluctantly 
because,  as  he  went  on,  he  was  conscious  that  they 
did  not  appear  to  be  of  as  great  importance  as  this 
visit  to  a  physician  seemed  to  indicate  he  thought 
them.  The  most  impressive  was  the  fact  that  he 
was  unable  to  get  a  thoroughly  good  night's  sleep 
except  when  physically  exhausted,  which  in  his 
present  manner  of  life  he  seldom  was.  When  he 
had  finished  and  looked  around — he  had  been  gaz 
ing  out  of  the  window — he  found  himself,  as  he  had 
known  he  should,  under  the  intent  scrutiny  of  the 
eyes  he  was  facing. 

"What  did  the  last  man  give  you  for  this  in 
somnia  ? "  was  the  abrupt  question. 

"How  do  you  know  I  have  been  to  a  succession 
of  men  ? "  demanded  Coolidge  with  a  touch  of  evi 
dent  irritation. 

"Because  you  come  to  me.  We  don't  look  up 
old  friends  in  the  profession  until  the  strangers 
fail  us,"  was  the  quick  reply. 

"More  hasty  conclusions.  Still,  I'll  have  to 
admit  that  I  let  our  family  physician  look  me  over, 
and  that  he  suggested  my  seeing  a  nerve  man — • 
Allbright.  He  has  rather  a  name,  I  believe?'* 

"Sure  thing.     What  did  he  recommend?" 


12  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"A  long  sea  voyage.  I  took  it — having  nothing 
else  to  do — and  slept  a  bit  better  while  I  was  away. 
The  minute  I  got  back  it  was  the  old  story." 

"Nothing  on  your  mind,  I  suppose?"  suggested 
Burns. 

"I  supposed  you'd  ask  me  that  stock  question. 
Why  shouldn't  there  be  something  on  my  mind? 
Is  there  anybody  whose  mind  is  free  from  a  weight 
of  some  sort?"  demanded  Gardner  Coolidge.  His 
thin  face  flushed  a  little. 

"Nobody,"  admitted  Burns  promptly.  "The 
-question  is  whether  the  weight  on  yours  is  one 
that's  got  to  stay  there  or  whether  you  may  be  rid 
of  it.  Would  you  care  to  tell  me  anything  about 
\t  ?  I'm  a  pretty  old  friend,  you  know." 

Coolidge  was  silent  for  a  full  minute,  then  he 
>poke  with  evident  reluctance:  "It  won't  do  a 
particle  of  good  to  tell,  but  I  suppose,  if  I  consult 
you,  you  have  a  right  to  know  the  facts.  My 
wife — has  gone  back  to  her  father." 

"On  a  visit?"  Burns  inquired. 

Coolidge  stared  at  him.  "That's  like  you,  Red," 
he  said,  irritation  in  his  voice  again.  "What's  the 
use  of  being  brutal?" 

"Has  she  been  gone  long  enough  for  people  to 
think  it's  anything  more  than  a  visit?" 

"I  suppose  not.  She's  been  gone  two  months. 
Her  home  is  in  California." 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    13 

"Then  she  can  be  gone  three  without  anybody's 
thinking  trouble.  By  the  end  of  that  third  month 
you  can  bring  her  home,"  said  Burns  comfortably. 
He  leaned  back  in  his  swivel-chair,  and  stared 
hard  at  the  ceiling. 

Coolidge  made  an  exclamation  of  displeasure  and 
got  to  his  feet.  "If  you  don't  care  to  take  me 
seriously—  "  he  began. 

"I  don't  take  any  man  seriously  who  I  know 
cared  as  much  for  his  wife  when  he  married  her 
as  you  did  for  Miss  Carrington — and  whose  wife 
was  as  much  in  love  with  him  as  she  was  with 
you — when  he  comes  to  me  and  talks  about 
her  having  gone  on  a  visit  to  her  father.  Visits 
are  good  things;  they  make  people  appreciate  each 
other." 

"  You  don't — or  won't — understand."  Coolidge 
evidently  strove  hard  to  keep  himself  quiet.  "We 
have  come  to  a  definite  understanding  that  we 
can't — get  on  together.  She's  not  coming  back. 
And  I  don't  want  her  to." 

Burns  lowered  his  gaze  from  the  ceiling  to  his 
friend's  face,  and  the  glance  he  now  gave  him  was 
piercing.  "Say  that  last  again,"  he  demanded. 

"I  have  some  pride,"  replied  the  other  haughtily, 
but  his  eyes  would  not  meet  Burns's. 

"So  I  see.  Pride  is  a  good  thing.  So  is  love, 
T<tll  me  you  don't  love  her  and  I'll—  No,  don'c 


i4  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

tell  me  that.  I  don't  want  to  hear  you  perjure 
yourself.  And  I  shouldn't  believe  you.  You  may 
as  well  own  up" — his  voice  was  gentle  now — "that 
you're  suffering — and  not  only  with  hurt  pride." 
There  was  silence  for  a  little.  Then  Burns  began 
again,  in  a  very  low  and  quiet  tone:  "Have  you 
anything  against  her,  Cooly?" 

The  man  before  him,  who  was  still  standing, 
turned  upon  him.  "How  can  you  ask  me  such  a 
question?"  he  said  fiercely. 

"It's  a  question  that  has  to  be  asked,  just  to 
get  it  out  of  the  way.  Has  she  anything  against 
you?" 

"  For  heaven's  sake — no !   You  know  us  both." 

"I  thought  I  did.  Diagnosis,  you  know,  is  a 
series  of  eliminations.  And  now  I  can  eliminate 
pretty  nearly  everything  from  this  case  except  a 
certain  phrase  you  used  a  few  minutes  ago.  I'm 
inclined  to  think  it's  the  cause  of  the  trouble." 
Coolidge  looked  his  inquiry.  "Having  nothing 
else  to  do.'" 

Coolidge  shook  his  head.  "You're  mistaken 
there.  I  have  plenty  to  do." 

"  But  nothing  you  couldn't  be  spared  from — un 
less  things  have  changed  since  the  days  when  we  all 
envied  you.  You're  still  writing  your  name  on  the 
backs  of  dividend  drafts,  I  suppose?" 

"Red,   you   are   something   of  a   brute,"   said 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    15 

Coolidge,  biting  his  lip.  But  he  had  taken  the 
t:hair  again. 

"I  know,"  admitted  Red  Pepper  Burns.  "I 
don't  really  mean  to  be,  but  the  only  way  I  can  find 
out  the  things  I  need  to  know  is  to  ask  straight 
questions.  I  never  could  stand  circumlocution. 
If  you  want  that,  Cooly;  if  you  want  what  are 
called  'tactful'  methods,  you'll  have  to  go  to  some 
other  man.  What  I  mean  by  asking  you  that  one 
is  to  prove  to  you  that  though  you  may  have  some 
thing  to  do,  you  have  no  job  to  work  at.  As  it 
happens  you  haven't  even  what  most  other  rich 
men  have,  the  trouble  of  looking  after  your  income 
— and  as  long  as  your  father  lives  you  won't  have 
it.  I  understand  that;  he  won't  let  you.  But 
there's  a  man  with  a  job— your  father.  And  he 
likes  it  so  well  he  won't  share  it  with  you.  It  isn't 
the  money  he  values,  it's  the  job.  And  collecting 
books  or  curios  or  coins  can  never  be  made  to  take 
the  place  of  good,  downright  hard  work." 

"That  may  be  all  true,"  acknowledged  Coolidge, 
"but  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  my  present  trouble. 
My  leisure  was  not  what —  He  paused,  as  if  he 

could  not  bear  to  discuss  the  subject  of  his  marital 
unhappiness. 

The  telephone  bell  in  the  outer  office  rang 
sharply.  An  instant  later  Miss  Mathewson 
knocked,  and  gave  a  message  to  Burns.  He  read 


16  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

it,  nodded,  said  "Right  away,"  and  turned  back  to 
his  friend. 

"I  have  to  leave  you  for  a  bit,"  he  said.  "Come 
in  and  meet  my  wife  and  one  of  the  kiddies.  The 
other's  away  just  now.  I'll  be  back  in  time  for  din 
ner.  Meanwhile,  we'll  let  the  finish  of  this  talk  wait 
over  for  an  hour  or  two.  I  want  to  think  about  it.'* 

He  exchanged  his  white  linen  office-jacket  for  a 
street  coat,  splashing  about  with  soap  and  water 
just  out  of  sight  for  a  little  while  before  he  did  so, 
and  reappeared  looking  as  if  he  had  washed  away 
the  fatigue  of  his  afternoon's  work  with  the  phys 
ical  process.  He  led  Gardner  Coolidge  out  of  the 
offices  into  a  wide  separating  hall,  and  the  moment 
the  door  closed  behind  him  the  visitor  felt  as  if  he 
had  entered  a  different  world. 

Could  this  part  of  the  house,  he  thought,  as 
Burns  ushered  him  into  the  living  room  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hall  and  left  him  there  while  he 
went  to  seek  his  wife,  possibly  be  contained  within 
the  old  brick  walls  of  the  exterior?  He  had  not 
dreamed  of  finding  such  refinement  of  beauty  and 
charm  in  connection  with  the  office  of  the  village 
doctor.  In  half  a  dozen  glances  to  right  and  left 
Gardner  Coolidge,  experienced  in  appraising  the 
belongings  of  the  rich  and  travelled  of  superior 
taste  and  breeding,  admitted  to  himself  that  the 
genius  of  the  place  must  be  such  a  woman  as  he 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    17 

would  not  have  imagined  Redfield  Pepper  Burns 
able  to  marry. 

He  had  not  long  to  wait  for  the  confirmation  of 
his  insight.  Burns  shortly  returned,  a  two-year- 
old  boy  on  his  shoulder,  his  wife  following,  drawn 
along  by  the  child's  hand.  Coolidge  looked,  and 
liked  that  which  he  saw.  And  he  understood, 
with  one  glance  into  the  dark  eyes  which  met  his, 
one  look  at  the  firm  sweetness  of  the  lovely  mouth, 
that  the  heart  of  the  husband  must  safely  trust  in 
this  woman. 

Burns  went  away  at  once,  leaving  Coolidge  in 
the  company  of  Ellen,  and  the  guest,  eager  though 
he  was  for  the  professional  advice  he  had  come  to 
seek,  could  not  regret  the  necessity  which  gave 
him  this  hour  with  a  woman  who  seemed  to 
him  very  unusual.  Charm  she  possessed  in  full 
measure,  beauty  in  no  less,  but  neither  of  these 
terms  nor  both  together  could  wholly  describe 
Ellen  Burns.  There  was  something  about  her 
which  seemed  to  glow,  so  that  he  soon  felt  that  her 
presence  in  the  quietly  rich  and  restful  living  room 
completed  its  furnishing,  and  that  once  having  seen 
her  there  the  place  could  never  be  quite  at  its  best 
without  her. 

Burns  came  back,  and  the  three  went  out  to 
dinner.  The  small  boy,  a  handsome,  auburn- 
haired,  brown-eyed  composite  of  his  parents,  had 


i8  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

been  sent  away,  the  embraces  of  both  father  and 
mother  consoling  him  for  his  banishment  to  the 
arms  of  a  coloured  mammy.  Coolidge  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  simple  but  appetizing  dinner,  of 
the  sort  he  had  known  he  should  have  as  soon 
as  he  had  met  the  mistress  of  the  house.  And 
after  it  he  was  borne  away  by  Burns  to  the 
office. 

"I  have  to  go  out  again  at  once,"  the  physician 
announced.  "I'm  going  to  take  you  with  me.  I 
suppose  you  have  a  distaste  for  the  sight  of  illness, 
but  that  doesn't  matter  seriously.  I  want  you  to 
see  this  patient  of  mine." 

"Thank  you,  but  I  don't  believe  that's  neces 
sary,"  responded  Coolidge  with  a  frown.  "If 
Mrs.  Burns  is  too  busy  to  keep  me  company  I'll 
sit  here  and  read  while  you're  out." 

"No,  you  won't.  If  you  consult  a  man  you're 
bound  to  take  his  prescriptions.  I'm  telling  you 
frankly,  for  you'd  see  through  me  if  I  pretended  to 
take  you  out  for  a  walk  and  then  pulled  you  into  a 
house.  Be  a  sport,  Cooly." 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  other  man,  suppressing 
his  irritation.  He  was  almost,  but  not  quite,  wish 
ing  he  had  not  yielded  to  the  unexplainable  im 
pulse  which  had  brought  him  here  to  see  a  man 
who,  as  he  should  have  known  from  past  experi 
ence  in  college  days,  was  as  sure  to  be  eccentric  in 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    19 

his  methods  of  practising  his  profession  as  he  had 
been  in  the  conduct  of  his  life  as  a  student. 

The  two  went  out  into  the  winter  night  together, 
Coolidge  remarking  that  the  call  must  be  a  brief 
one,  for  his  train  would  leave  in  a  little  more  than 
an  hour. 

"It'll  be  brief,"  Burns  promised.  "It's  practi 
cally  a  friendly  call  only,  for  there's  nothing  more  I 
can  do  for  the  patient — except  to  see  him  on  his 
way." 

Coolidge  looked  more  than  ever  reluctant.  "I 
hope  he's  not  just  leaving  the  world  ?" 

"What  if  he  were— would  that  frighten  you? 
Don't  be  worried;  he'll  not  go  to-night." 

Something  in  Burns's  tone  closed  his  compan 
ion's  lips.  Coolidge  resented  it,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  felt  constrained  to  let  the  other  have  his 
way.  And  after  all  there  proved  to  be  nothing  in 
the  sight  he  presently  found  himself  witnessing  to 
shock  the  most  delicate  sensibilities. 

It  was  a  little  house  to  which  Burns  conducted 
his  friend  and  latest  patient;  it  was  a  low-ceiled, 
homely  room,  warm  with  lamplight  and  comfort 
able  with  the  accumulations  of  a  lifetime  carefully 
preserved.  In  the  worn,  old,  red-cushioned  arm 
chair  by  a  glowing  stove  sat  an  aged  figure  of  a 
certain  dignity  and  attractiveness  in  spite  of  the 
lines  and  hues  plainly  showing  serious  illness. 


20       ,    RED  PEPPERS  PATIENTS 

The  man  was  a  man  of  education  and  experience^ 
as  was  evident  from  his  first  words  in  response  to 
Burns's  greeting. 

"It  was  kind  of  you  to  come  again  to-night,  Doc 
tor.  I  suspect  you  know  how  it  shortens  the  nights 
to  have  this  visit  from  you  in  the  evening." 

"Of  course  I  know,"  Burns  responded,  his  hand 
resting  gently  on  the  frail  shoulder,  his  voice  as 
tender  as  that  of  a  son's  to  a  father  whom  he 
knows  he  is  not  long  to  see. 

There  was  a  woman  in  the  room,  an  old  woman 
with  a  pathetic  face  and  eyes  like  a  mourning  dog's, 
as  they  rested  on  her  husband.  But  her  voice  was 
cheerful  and  full  of  quiet  courage  as  she  answered 
Burns's  questions.  The  pair  received  Gardner 
Coolidge  as  simply  as  if  they  were  accustomed  to 
meet  strangers  every  day,  spoke  with  him  a  little, 
and  showed  him  the  courtesy  of  genuine  interest 
when  he  tried  to  entertain  them  with  a  brief  ac 
count  of  an  incident  which  had  happened  on  his 
train  that  day.  Altogether,  there  was  nothing 
about  the  visit  which  he  could  have  characterized 
as  painful  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  layman  who 
accompanies  the  physician  to  a  room  where  it  is 
clear  that  the  great  transition  is  soon  to  take  place. 
And  yet  there  was  everything  about  it  to  make 
it  painful — acutely  painful — to  any  man  whose 
discernment  was  naturally  as  keen  as  Coolidge's, 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    21 

That  the  parting  so  near  at  hand  was  to  be  one 
between  lovers  of  long  standing  could  be  read  in 
every  word  and  glance  the  two  gave  each  other. 
That  they  were  making  the  most  of  these  last  days 
was  equally  apparent,  though  not  a  word  was  said 
to  suggest  it.  And  that  the  man  who  was  con 
ducting  them  through  the  fast-diminishing  time 
was  dear  to  them  as  a  son  could  have  been  read 
by  the  very  blind. 

"It's  so  good  of  you — so  good  of  you,  Doctor," 
they  said  again  as  Burns  rose  to  go,  and  when  he 
responded:  "It's  good  to  myself  I  am,  my  dears, 
when  I  come  to  look  at  you,"  the  smiles  they  gave 
him  and  each  other  were  very  eloquent. 

Outside  there  was  silence  between  the  two  men 
for  a  little  as  they  walked  briskly  along,  then  Cool- 
idge  said  reluctantly:  "Of  course  I  should  have 
a  heart  of  stone  if  I  were  not  touched  by  that 
scene — as  you  knew  I  would  be." 

"  Yes,  I  knew,"  said  Burns  simply;  and  Cool- 
idge  saw  him  lift  his  hand  and  dash  away  a  tear. 
"It  gets  me,  twice  a  day  regularly,  just  as  if  I  hadn't 
seen  it  before.  And  when  I  go  back  and  look  at 
the  woman  I  love  I  say  to  myself  that  I'll  never 
let  anything  but  the  last  enemy  come  between 
us  if  I  have  to  crawl  on  my  knees  before  her." 

Suddenly  Coolidge's  throat  contracted.  His  re 
sentment  against  his  friend  was  gone.  Surely  it 


24  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

was  a  wise  physician  who  had  given  him  that 
heartbreaking  little  scene  to  remember  when  he 
should  be  tempted  to  harden  his  heart  against  the 
woman  he  had  chosen. 

"Red,"  he  said  bye  and  bye,  when  the  two  were 
alone  together  for  a  few  minutes  again  in  the 
consulting  room  before  he  should  leave  for  his 
train,  "is  that  all  the  prescription  you're  going  to 
give  me — a  trip  to  California?  Suppose  I'm  not 
successful?" 

Red  Pepper  Burns  smiled,  a  curious  little  smile. 
"You've  forgotten  what  I  told  you  about  the  way 
my  old  man  and  woman  made  a  home  together, 
and  worked  at  their  market  gardening  together, 
and  read  and  studied  together — did  everything 
from  first  to  last  together.  That's  the  whole  force 
of  the  illustration,  to  my  mind,  Cooly.  It's  the 
standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  to  face  life  that  does 
the  thing.  Whatever  plan  you  make  for  your 
after  life,  when  you  bring  Alicia  back  with  you — - 
as  you  will;  I  know  it — make  it  a  plan  which  means 
partnership — if  you  have  to  build  a  cottage  down 
on  the  edge  of  your  estate  and  live  alone  there  to 
gether.  Alone  till  the  children  come  to  keep  you 
company,"  he  added  with  a  sudden  flashing  smile. 

Coolidge  looked  at  him  and  shook  his  head.  His 
face  dropped  back  into  melancholy.  He  opened 
his  lips  and  closed  them  again.  Red  Pepper  Burns 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    23 

opened  his  own  lips — and  closed  them  again. 
When  he  did  speak  it  was  to  say,  more  gently  than 
he  had  yet  spoken: 

"Old  fellow,  life  isn't  in  ruins  before  you.  Make 
up  your  mind  to  that.  You'll  sleep  again,  and 
laugh  again — and  cry  again,  too, — because  lifeis  like 
that,  and  you  wouldn't  want  it  any  other  way." 

It  was  time  for  Coolidge  to  go,  and  the  two  men 
went  in  to  permit  the  guest  to  take  leave  of  Mrs. 
Burns.  When  they  left  the  house  Coolidge  told  his 
friend  briefly  what  he  thought  of  his  friend's  wife, 
and  Burns  smiled  in  the  darkness  as  he  heard. 

"She  affects  most  people  that  way,"  he  an 
swered  with  a  proud  little  ring  in  his  voice.  But  he 
did  not  go  on  to  talk  about  her;  that  would  have 
been  brutal  indeed  in  Coolidge's  unhappy  circum 
stances. 

At  the  train  Coolidge  turned  suddenly  to  his 
physician.  "You  haven't  given  me  anything  for 
my  sleeplessness,"  he  said. 

"Think  you  must  have  a  prescription?"  Burns 
inquired,  getting  out  his  blank  and  pen. 

"It  will  take  some  time  for  your  advice  to  work 
out,  if  it  ever  does,"  Coolidge  said.  "Meanwhile, 
the  more  good  sleep  I  get  the  fitter  I  shall  be  for 
the  effort." 

"True  enough.  All  right,  you  shall  have  the 
prescription." 


24  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Burns  wrote  rapidly,  resting  the  small  leather- 
bound  book  on  his  knee,  his  foot  on  an  iron  rail  of 
the  fence  which  kept  passengers  from  crowding. 
He  read  over  what  he  had  written,  his  face  sober, 
his  eyes  intent.  He  scrawled  a  nearly  indecipher 
able  "Burns"  at  the  bottom,  folded  the  slip  and 
handed  it  to  his  friend.  "Put  it  away  till  you're 
ready  to  get  it  filled,"  he  advised. 

The  two  shook  hands,  gripping  tightly  and 
looking  straight  into  each  other's  eyes. 

"Thank  you,  Red,  for  it  all,"  said  Gardner 
Coolidge.  "There  have  been  minutes  when  I  felt 
differently,  but  I  understand  you  better  now. 
And  I  see  why  your  waiting  room  is  full  of  patients 
even  on  a  stormy  day." 

"No,  you  don't,"  denied  Red  Pepper  Burns 
stoutly.  "  If  you  saw  me  take  their  heads  off  you'd 
wonder  that  they  ever  came  again.  Plenty  of  them 
don't — and  I  don't  blame  them — when  I've  cooled 
off." 

Coolidge  smiled.  "You  never  lie  awake  thinking 
over  what  you've  said  or  done,  do  you,  Red  ?  By 
gones  are  bygones  with  a  man  like  you.  You 
couldn't  do  your  work  if  they  weren't!" 

Apeculiarlook  leaped  into  Burns's  eyes.  "That's 
what  the  outsiders  always  think,"  he  answered 
briefly. 

"Isn't  it  true?" 


AN  INTELLIGENT  PRESCRIPTION    25 

"You  may  as  well  go  on  thinking  it  is  —  and  so 
may  the  rest.  What's  the  use  of  explaining  one 
self,  or  trying  to?  Better  to  go  on  looking  unsym 
pathetic  —  and  suffering,  sometimes,  more  than  all 
one's  patients  put  together!" 

Coolidge  stared  at  the  other  man.  His  face 
showed  suddenly  certain  grim  lines  which  Coolidge 
had  not  noticed  there  before  —  lines  written  by 
endurance,  nothing  less.  But  even  as  the  patient 
looked  the  physician's  expression  changed  again. 
His  sternly  set  lips  relaxed  into  a  smile,  he  pointed 
to  a  motioning  porter. 

:'Time  to  be  off,  Cooly,"  he  said.  "Mind  you 
let  me  know  how  —  you  are.  Good  luck  —  the  best 
of  it!" 

In  the  train  Coolidge  had  no  sooner  settled  him 
self  than  he  read  Burns's  prescription.  He  had  a 
feeling  that  it  would  be  different  from  other  pre 
scriptions,  and  so  it  proved: 


Walk  five  miles  every  evening. 

Drink  no  sort  of  stimulant,  except  one  cup  of  coffee  at 
breakfast. 

Begin  to  make  plans  for  the  cottage.     Don't  let  it  turn  out 
a  palace. 

Ask  the  good  Lord  every  night  to  keep  you  from  being  a 
proud  fool. 

BURNS. 


CHAPTER  II 
LITTLE  HUNGARY 

NOT  HUNGRY,  Red  ?  After  all  that  cold 
drive  to-day?  Would  you  like  to  have 
Cynthia  make  you  something  special, 
dear?" 

R.  P.  Burns,  M.D.,  shook  his  head.  "No, 
thanks."  He  straightened  in  his  chair,  where  he 
sat  at  the  dinner  table  opposite  his  wife.  He  took 
up  his  knife  and  fork  again  and  ate  valiantly  a 
mouthful  or  two  of  the  tempting  food  upon  his 
plate,  then  he  laid  the  implements  down  decisively. 
He  put  his  elbow  on  the  table  and  leaned  his  head 
upon  his  hand.  "I'm  just  too  blamed  tired  to  eat, 
that's  all,"  he  said. 

"Then  don't  try.  I'm  quite  through,  too. 
Come  in  the  living  room  and  lie  down  a  little.  It's 
such  a  stormy  night  there  may  be  nobody  in." 

Ellen  slipped  her  hand  through  his  arm  and  led 
the  way  to  the  big  blue  couch  facing  the  fireplace. 
He  dropped  upon  it  with  a  sigh  of  fatigue.  His 
wife  sat  down  beside  him  and  began  to  pass  her 
fingers  lightly  through  his  heavy  hair,  with  the 

*6 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  27 

touch  which  usually  soothed  him  into  slumber  if 
no  interruptions  came  to  summon  him.  But  to 
night  her  ministrations  seemed  to  have  little  effect, 
for  he  lay  staring  at  a  certain  picture  on  the  wall 
with  eyes  which  evidently  saw  beyond  it  into  some 
trying  memory. 

"Is  the  whole  world  lying  heavy  on  you/ 
shoulders  to-night,  Red?"  Ellen  asked  presently, 
knowing  that  sometimes  speech  proved  a  relie/ 
from  thought. 

He  nodded.  "The  whole  world — millions  ol 
tons  of  it.  It's  just  because  I'm  tired.  There's 
no  real  reason  why  I  should  take  this  day's 
svork  harder  than  usual — except  that  I  lost  the 
Anderson  case  this  morning.  Poor  start  for  the 
day,  eh  ? " 

"  But  you  knew  you  must  lose  it.  Nobody  could 
have  saved  that  poor  creature." 

"I  suppose  not.  But  I  wanted  to  save  him  just 
the  same.  You  see,  he  particularly  wanted  to  live, 
and  he  had  pinned  his  whole  faith  to  me.  He 
wouldn't  give  it  up  that  I  could  do  the  miracle.  It 
hurts  to  disappoint  a  faith  like  that." 

"Of  course  it  does,"  she  said  gently.  "But  you 
must  try  to  forget  now,  Red,  because  of  to-morrow. 
There  will  be  people  to-morrow  who  need  you  as 
much  as  he  did." 

"That's  just  what  I'd  like  to  forget,"  he  mur- 


28  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

mured.  "Everything's  gone  wrong  to-day — it'll 
•50  worse  to-morrow." 

She  knew  it  was  small  use  to  try  to  combat  this 
mood,  so  unlike  his  usual  optimism,  but  frequent 
enough  of  occurrence  to  make  her  understand  that 
there  is  no  depression  like  that  of  the  habitually 
buoyant,  once  it  takes  firm  hold.  She  left  him 
presently  and  went  to  sit  by  the  reading  lamp,  look 
ing  through  current  magazines  in  hope  of  finding 
some  article  sufficiently  attractive  to  capture 
his  interest,  and  divert  his  heavy  thoughts.  His 
eyes  rested  absently  on  her  as  she  sat  there,  a 
charming,  comradely  figure  in  her  simple  home 
dinner  attire,  with  the  light  on  her  dark  hair  and 
the  exquisite  curve  of  her  cheek. 

It  was  a  fireside  scene  of  alluring  comfort,  the 
two  central  figures  of  such  opposite  character 
istics,  yet  so  congenial.  The  night  outside  was 
very  cold,  the  wind  blowing  stormily  in  great  gusts 
which  now  and  then  howled  down  the  chimney, 
making  the  warmth  and  cheer  within  all  the  more 
appealing. 

Suddenly  Ellen,  hunting  vainly  for  the  page  she 
sought,  lifted  her  head,  to  see  her  husband  lift  his  at 
the  same  instant. 

"Music?"  she  questioned.  "Where  can  it 
come  from?  Not  outside  on  such  a  night  as 
this?" 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  29 

"Did  you  hear  it,  too?  I've  been  thinking  it  my 
imagination." 

"It  must  be  the  wind,  but — no,  it  is  music!" 

She  rose  and  went  to  the  window,  pushing  aside 
draperies  and  setting  her  face  to  the  frosty  pane. 
The  next  instant  she  called  in  a  startled  way: 

"Oh,  Red— come  here!" 

He  came  slowly,  but  the  moment  he  caught 
sight  of  the  figure  in  the  storm  outside  his  langour 
vanished. 

"Good  heavens!  The  poor  beggar!  We  must 
have  him  in." 

He  ran  to  the  hall  and  the  outer  door,  and  Ellen 
heard  his  shout  above  the  howling  of  the  wind. 

"Come  in — come  in!" 

She  reached  the  door  into  the  hall  as  the  slender 
young  figure  stumbled  up  the  steps,  a  violin 
clutched  tight  in  fingers  purple  with  cold.  She  saw 
the  stiff  lips  break  into  a  frozen  smile  as  her  hus 
band  laid  his  hand  upon  the  thinly  clad  shoulder 
and  drew  the  youth  where  he  could  close  the  door. 

"Why  didn't  you  come  to  the  door  and  ring, 
instead  of  fiddling  out  there  in  the  cold!"  de 
manded  Burns.  "Do  you  think  we're  heathen, 
to  shut  anybody  out  on  a  night  like  this?" 

The  boy  shook  his  head.  He  was  a  boy  in  size, 
though  the  maturity  of  his  thin  face  suggested  that 
he  was  at  least  nineteen  or  twenty  years  old.  His 


30  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

dark  eyes  gleamed  out  of  hollow  sockets,  and  his 
black  hair,  curling  thickly,  was  rough  with  neglect. 
But  he  had  snatched  off  his  ragged  soft  hat  even 
before  he  was  inside  the  door,  and  for  all  the  stiff 
ness  of  his  chilled  limbs  his  attitude,  as  he  stood 
before  his  hosts,  had  the  unconscious  grace  of  the 
foreigner. 

"Where  do  you  come  from?"  Burns  asked. 

Again  the  stranger  shook  his  head. 

"He  can't  speak  English,"  said  Ellen. 

"Probably  not — though  he  may  be  bluffing.  We 
must  warm  and  feed  him,  anyhow.  Will  you  have 
him  in  here,  or  shall  I  take  him  in  the  office?" 

Ellen  glanced  again  at  the  shivering  youth,  noted 
that  the  purple  hands  were  clean,  even  to  the  nails, 
and  led  the  way  unhesitatingly  into  the  living  room 
with  all  its  beckoning  warmth  and  beauty. 

"Good  little  sport — I  knew  you  would," 
murmured  Burns,  as  he  beckoned  the  boy  after 
him. 

Ellen  left  the  two  alone  together  by  the  fire, 
while  she  went  to  prepare  a  tray  with  Cynthia  in 
the  kitchen,  filling  it  with  the  hearty  food  Burns 
himself  had  left  untouched.  Big  slices  of  juicy 
roast  beef,  two  hurriedly  warmed  sweet  potatoes 
which  had  been  browned  in  syrup  in  the  Southern 
style,  crisp  buttered  rolls,  and  a  pot  of  steaming 
coffee  were  on  the  large  tray  which  Cynthia  in- 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  31 

sisted  on  carrying  to  the  living-room  door  for  her 
mistress.  Burns,  jumping  up  at  sight  of  her,  took 
the  tray,  while  Ellen  cleared  a  small  table,  drew  up 
a  chair,  and  summoned  the  young  stranger. 

The  low  bow  he  made  her  before  he  took  the 
chair  proclaimed  his  breeding,  as  well  as  the  smile 
of  joy  which  showed  the  flash  of  his  even  white 
teeth  in  the  firelight.  He  made  a  little  gesture  of 
gratitude  toward  both  Burns  and  Ellen,  pressing 
his  hands  over  his  heart  and  then  extending  them, 
the  expression  on  his  face  touching  in  its  starved 
restraint.  Then  he  fell  upon  the  food,  and  even 
though  he  was  plainly  ravenous  he  ate  as  man- 
neredly  as  any  gentleman.  Only  by  the  way  he 
finished  each  tiniest  crumb  could  they  know  \iis 
extremity. 

"  By  Jove,  that  beats  eating  it  myself,  if  I  were 
nungry  as  a  faster  on  the  third  day!"  Burns  ex 
claimed,  as  he  sat  turned  away  from  the  beneficiary, 
his  eyes  apparently  upon  the  fire.  Ellen,  from 
behind  the  boy,  smiled  at  her  husband,  noting 
how  completely  his  air  of  fatigue  had  fallen  from 
him.  Often  before  she  had  observed  how  any  call 
upon  R.  P.  Burns's  sympathies  rode  down  his  own 
need  of  commiseration. 

"Hungarian,  I  think,  don't  you?"  Burns  re 
marked,  as  the  meal  was  finished,  and  the  youth 
rose  to  bow  his  thanks  once  more.  This  time  there 


32  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

was  a  response.  He  nodded  violently,  smiling  and 
throwing  out  his  hands. 

"Ungdkree!"  he  said,  and  smiled  and  nodded 
again,  and  said  again,  "Ungahree!" 

"He  knows  that  word  all  right,"  said  Burns, 
smiling  back.  "It's  a  land  of  musicians.  The 
fiddle's  a  good  one,  I'll  wager." 

He  glanced  at  it  as  he  spoke,  and  the  boy  leaped 
for  it,  pressing  it  to  his  breast.  He  began  to  tune 
it. 

"He  thinks  we  want  to  be  paid  for  his  supper," 
Ellen  exclaimed.  "Can't  you  make  him  under 
stand  we  should  like  him  to  rest  first?" 

"I'd  only  convey  to  him  the  idea  that  we  didn't 
want  to  hear  him  play,  which  would  be  a  pity,  for 
we  do.  If  he's  the  musician  he  looks,  by  those  eyes 
and  that  mouth,  we'll  be  more  than  paid.  Go 
ahead,  Hungary — it'll  make  you  happier  than  any 
thing  we  could  do  for  you." 

Clearly  it  would.  Burns  carried  out  the  tray, 
and  when  he  returned  his  guest  was  standing  upon 
the  hearth  rug  facing  Ellen,  his  bow  uplifted.  He 
waited  till  Burns  had  thrown  himself  down  on  the 
couch  again  in  a  sitting  posture,  both  arms 
stretched  along  the  back.  Then  he  made  his 
graceful  obeisance  again,  and  drew  the  bow  very 
slowly  and  softly  over  the  first  string.  And,  at  the 
very  first  note,  the  two  who  were  watching  him 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  33 

knew  what  was  to  come.  It  was  in  every  line  of 
him,  that  promise. 

It  might  have  been  his  gratitude  that  he  was 
voicing,  so  touching  were  the  strains  that  followed 
that  first  note.  The  air  was  unfamiliar,  but  it 
sounded  like  a  folk  song  of  his  own  country,  and  he 
put  into  it  all  the  poignant,  peculiar  melody  of  such 
a  song.  His  tones  were  exquisite,  with  the  sure 
touch  of  the  trained  violinist  inspired  and  sup 
ported  by  the  emotional  understanding  of  the  genu 
ine  musician. 

When  he  had  finished  he  stood  looking  down 
ward  for  a  moment,  then  as  Burns  said  "Bravo!" 
he  smiled  as  if  he  understood  the  word,  and  lifted 
his  instrument  again  to  his  shoulder.  This  time 
his  bow  descended  upon  the  strings  with  a  full  note 
of  triumph,  and  he  burst  into  the  brilliant  per 
formance  of  a  great  masterpiece,  playing  with  a 
spirit  and  dash  which  seemed  to  transform  him. 
Often  his  lips  parted  to  show  his  white  teeth,  often 
he  swung  his  whole  body  into  the  rhythm  of  his 
music,  until  he  seemed  a  very  part  of  the  splendid 
harmonies  he  made.  His  thin  cheeks  flushed,  his 
hollow  eyes  grew  bright,  he  smiled,  he  frowned,  he 
shook  his  slender  shoulders,  he  even  took  a  stride 
to  right  or  left  as  he  played  on,  as  if  the  passion  of 
his  performance  would  not  let  him  rest. 

His  listeners  watched  him  with  svmpathetic  and 


34  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

comprehending  interest.  Warmed  and  fed,  his 
Latin  nature  leaping  up  from  its  deep  depression 
to  the  exaltation  of  the  hour,  the  appeal  he  made  to 
them  was  intensely  pathetic.  Burns,  even  more 
ardently  than  his  wife,  responded  to  the  appeal.  He 
no  longer  lounged  among  the  pillows  of  the  broad 
couch;  he  sat  erect,  his  eyes  intent,  his  lips  re 
laxed,  his  cares  forgot.  He  was  a  lover  of  music, 
as  are  many  men  of  his  profession,  and  he  was  more 
than  ordinarily  susceptible  to  its  influences.  He 
drank  in  the  tones  of  the  master,  voiced  by  this 
devoted  interpreter,  like  wine,  and  like  wine  they 
Drought  the  colour  to  his  face  also,  and  the  light  to 
his  eyes. 

"Jove!"  he  murmured,  as  the  last  note  died 
away,  "he's  a  wonder.  He  must  be  older  than  he 
looks.  How  he  loves  it!  He's  forgotten  that  he 
doesn't  know  where  he's  to  sleep  to-night — but,  by 
all  that's  fair,  we  know,  eh?" 

Ellen  smiled,  with  a  look  of  assent.  Her  own 
heart  was  warmly  touched.  There  was  a  small 
bedroom  upstairs,  plainly  but  comfortably  fur 
nished,  which  was  often  used  for  impecunious 
patients  who  needed  to  remain  under  observation 
for  a  day  or  two.  It  was  at  the  service  of  any 
chance  guest,  and  the  chance  guest  was  surely 
with  them  to-night.  There  was  no  place  in  the 
village  to  which  such  a  vagrant  as  this  might  be 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  35 

sent,  except  the  jail,  and  the  jail,  for  a  musician  of 
such  quality,  was  unthinkable.  And  in  the  night 
and  storm  one  would  not  turn  a  dog  outdoors  to 
hunt  for  shelter — at  least  not  Red  Pepper  Burns 
nor  Ellen  Burns,  his  wife. 

As  if  he  could  not  stop,  now  that  he  had  found 
ears  to  listen,  the  young  Hungarian  played  on. 
More  and  more  profoundly  did  his  music  move  him, 
until  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  become  the  very  spirit 
of  the  instrument  which  sung  and  vibrated  under 
his  thin  fingers. 

"My  word,  Len,  this  is  too  good  to  keep  all  to 
ourselves.  Let's  have  the  Macauleys  and  Chest- 
ers  over.  Then  we'll  have  an  excuse  for  paying  the 
chap  a  good  sum  for  his  work — and  somehow  I  feel 

that  we  need  an  excuse  for  such  a  gentleman  as  he 

•    » 
is. 

"That's  just  the  thing.  I'll  ask  them." 
She  was  on  her  way  to  the  telephone  when  her 
husband  suddenly  called  after  her,  "Wait  a  minute, 
Len."  She  turned  back,  to  see  the  musician,  his 
bow  faltering,  suddenly  lower  his  violin  and  lean 
against  his  patron,  who  had  leaped  to  his  support. 
A  minute  later  Burns  had  him  stretched  upon  the 
blue  couch,  and  had  laid  his  fingers  on  the  bony 
wrist. 

"Hang  me  for  a  simpleton,  to  feed  him  like  that 
when  he's  probably  not  tasted  solid  food  for  days. 


36  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

The  reaction  is  too  much,  of  course.  He's  been 
playing  on  his  nerve  for  the  last  ten  minutes,  and  I, 
like  an  idiot,  thought  it  was  his  emotional  tempera 
ment." 

He  ran  out  of  the  room  and  returned  with  a  wine 
glass  filled  with  liquid,  which  he  administered,  his 
arm  under  the  ragged  shoulders.  Then  he  patted 
the  wasted  cheek,  gone  suddenly  white  except 
where  the  excited  colour  still  showed  in  faint  patches. 

"You'll  be  all  right,  son,"  he  said,  smiling  down 
into  the  frightened  eyes,  and  his  tone  if  not  his 
words  seemed  to  carry  reassurance,  for  the  eyes 
closed  with  a  weary  flutter  and  the  gripping 
fingers  relaxed. 

"He's  completely  done,"  Burns  said  pityingly. 
He  took  one  hand  in  his  own  and  held  it  in  his 
warm  grasp,  at  which  the  white  lids  unclosed  again, 
and  the  sensitive  lips  tried  to  smile. 

"I'd  no  business  to  let  him  play  so  long — I  might 
have  known.  Poor  boy,  he's  starved  for  other 
things  than  food.  Do  you  suppose  anybody's  held 
his  hand  like  this  since  he  left  the  old  country? 
He  thought  he'd  find  wealth  and  fame  in  the  new 
one — and  this  is  what  he  found!" 

Ellen  stood  looking  at  the  pair — her  brawny 
husband,  himself  "completely  done"  an  hour  be 
fore,  now  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  couch  with  his 
new  patient's  hand  in  his,  his  face  wearing  an  ex- 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  37 

pression  of  keen  interest,  not  a  sign  of  fatigue  in  his 
manner;  the  exhausted  young  foreigner  in  his 
ragged  clothing  lying  on  the  luxurious  couch,  his 
pale  face  standing  out  like  a  fine  cameo  against  the 
blue  velvet  of  the  pillow  under  his  dark  head.  If 
a  thought  of  possible  contamination  for  her  home's 
belongings  entered  her  mind  it  found  no  lodgment 
there,  so  pitiful  was  her  heart. 

"Is  the  room  ready  upstairs?"  Burns  asked  pres 
ently,  when  he  had  again  noted  the  feeble  action  of 
the  pulse  under  his  fingers.  "What  he  needs 
is  rest  and  sleep,  and  plenty  of  both.  Like  the 
most  of  us  he's  kept  up  while  he  had  to,  and  nowhe's 
gone  to  pieces  absolutely.  To-morrow  we  can 
send  him  to  the  hospital,  perhaps,  but  for  to 
night " 

"The   room   is   ready.     I   sent  Cynthia  up  at 

»» 

once. 

"  Bless  you,  you  never  fail  me,  do  you  ?  Well — 
we  may  as  well  be  on  our  way.  He's  nearly  asleep 
now." 

Burns  stood  up,  throwing  off  his  coat.  But 
Ellen  remonstrated. 

"Dear,  you  are  so  tired  to-night.  Let  me  call 
Jim  over  to  help  you  carry  him  up." 

A  derisive  laugh  answered  her.  "Great  Caesar, 
Len!  The  chap's  a  mere  bag  of  bones — and  if  he 
were  twice  as  heavy  he'd  be  no  weight  for  me.  Jim 


38  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Macauley  would  howl  at  the  idea,  and  no  wonder. 
Go  ahead  and  open  the  doors,  please,  and  I'll  have 
him  up  in  a  jiffy." 

He  stooped  over  the  couch,  swung  the  slender 
figure  up  into  his  powerful  arms,  speaking  reassur 
ingly  to  the  eyes  which  slowly  opened  in  half- 
stupefied  alarm.  "It's  all  right,  little  Hungary. 
We're  going  to  put  you  to  bed,  like  the  small  lost 
boy  you  are.  Bring  his  fiddle,  Len — he  won't 
want  that  out  of  his  sight.'* 

He  strode  away  with  his  burden,  and  marched 
up  the  stairs  as  if  he  were  carrying  his  own  two- 
year-old  son.  Arrived  in  the  small,  comfortable 
little  room  at  the  back  of  the  house  he  laid  his 
charge  on  the  bed,  and  stood  looking  down  at  him. 

"Len,  I'll  have  to  go  the  whole  figure,"  he  said — • 
and  said  it  not  as  if  the  task  he  was  about  to  impose 
upon  himself  were  one  that  irked  him.  "Get  me 
hot  water  and  soap  and  towels,  will  you  ?  And  an 
old  pair  of  pajamas.  I  can't  put  him  to  bed  in 
his  rags." 

"Shall  I  send  for  Amy?'*  questioned  his  wife, 
quite  as  if  she  understood  the  uselessness  of  re 
monstrance. 

"Not  much.  Amy's  making  out  bills  for  me  to 
night,  we'll  not  interrupt  the  good  work.  Put  some 
bath-ammonia  in  the  water,  please — and  have  it 
hot." 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  39 

Half  an  hour  later  he  called  her  in  to  see  the  work 
of  his  hands.  She  had  brought  him  one  of  his 
surgical  aprons  with  the  bath  equipment.  With 
his  sleeves  rolled  up,  his  apron  well  splashed,  his 
coppery  hair  more  or  less  in  disarray  from  the 
occasional  thrustings  of  a  soapy  hand,  and  his  face 
flushed  and  eager  like  a  healthy  boy's,  Red  Pepper 
Burns  stood  grinning  down  at  his  patient.  Little 
Hungary  lay  in  the  clean  white  bed,  his  pale  face 
shining  with  soap  and  happiness,  his  arms  upon 
the  coverlet  encased  in  the  blue  and  white  sleeves 
of  Burns's  pajamas,  the  sleeves  neatly  turned  back 
to  accommodate  the  shortness  of  his  arms.  The 
workman  turned  to  Ellen  as  she  came  in. 

"Comfy,  eh?"  he  observed  briefly. 

"Absolutely,  I  should  say,  poor  dear." 

"Ah,  you  wouldn't  have  called  him  that  before 
che  bath.  But  he  is  rather  a  dear  now,  isn't  he? 
And  I  think  he's  younger  than  I  did  downstairs. 
Not  over  eighteen,  at  the  most,  but  fully  forty 
in  the  experiences  and  hardships  that  have 
brought  him  here.  Well,  we'll  go  away  and  let 
him  rest.  Wish  I  knew  the  Hungarian  for  'good 
night,'  don't  you?  Anyway,  if  he  knows  any 
prayers  he'll  say  'em,  I'll  venture." 

The  dark  eyes  were  watching  him  intently  as  he 
spoke,  as  if  their  owner  longed  to  know  what  this 
kind  angel  in  the  form  of  a  big  American  strangei 


40  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

I 

was  saying  to  him.     And  when,  in  leaving  him, 

Burns  once  more  laid  an  exploring  touch  upon  his 
wrist,  the  two  thin  hands  suddenly  clutched  the 
strong  one  and  bore  it  weakly  to  lips  which 
kissed  it  fervently. 

"Well,  that's  rather  an  eloquent  thank-you, 
eh?"  murmured  Burns,  as  he  patted  the  hands  in 
reply.  "No  doubt  but  he's  grateful.  Put  the 
fiddle  where  he  can  see  it  in  the  morning,  will  you, 
honey?  Open  the  window  pretty  well:  I've 
covered  him  thoroughly,  and  he  has  a  touch  of 
fever  to  keep  him  warm.  Good-night,  little  Hun 
gary.  Luck's  with  you  to-night,  to  get  into  this 
lady's  house." 

Downstairs  by  the  fireside  once  more,  the  signs 
of  his  late  occupation  removed,  Burns  stretched  out 
an  arm  for  his  wife. 

"Come  sit  beside  me  in  the  Retreat,"  he  invited, 
using  the  name  he  had  long  ago  given  to  the 
kixurious  blue  couch  where  he  was  accustomed, 
since  his  marriage,  to  rest  and  often  to  catch  a 
needed  nap.  He  drew  the  winsome  figure  close 
within  his  arm,  resting  his  red  head  against  the 
dark  one  below  it.  "I  don't  seem  to  feel  par 
ticularly  tired,  now,"  he  observed.  "Curious, 
isn't  it  ?  Fatigue,  as  I've  often  noticed,  is  more 
mental  than  physical — with  most  of  us.  Your 
ditch-digger  is  tired  in  his  back  and  arms,  but  the 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  41 

ordinary  person  is  merely  tired  because  his  mind 
tells  him  he  is." 

"You  are  never  too  tired  to  rouse  yourself  for  one 
patient  more,"  was  Ellen's  answer  to  this.  "The 
last  one  seems  to  cure  you  of  the  one  before." 

Burns's  hearty  laugh  shook  them  both.  "You 
can't  make  me  out  such  an  enthusiast  in  my  pro 
fession  as  that.  I  turned  away  two  country  calls 
to-night — too  lazy  to  make  'em." 

"But  you  would  have  gone  if  they  couldn't  have 
found  anybody  else." 

"That  goes  without  saying — no  merit  in  that. 
The  ethics  of  the  profession  have  to  be  lived  up  to, 
curse  'em  as  we  may,  at  times.  Len,  how  are  we  to 
get  to  know  something  about  little  Hungary  up 
stairs  ?  Thos«  eyes  of  his  are  going  to  follow  me  into 
my  dreams  to-night." 

"I  suppose  there  are  Hungarians  in  town?" 

"Not  a  one  that  I  ever  heard  of.  Plenty  in  the 
city,  though.  The  waiter  at  the  Arcadia,  where  I 
get  lunch  when  I'm  at  the  hospital,  is  a  Magyar. 
By  Jove,  there's  an  idea!  I'll  bring  Louis  out,  if 
Hungary  can't  get  into  the  hospital  to-morrow— 
and  I  warn  you  he  probably  can't.  I  shouldn't 
want  him  to  take  a  twelve-mile  ambulance  ride  in 
this  weather.  That  touch  of  fever  may  mean 
simple  exhaustion,  and  it  may  mean  look  out  for 
pneiimorna,  after  all  the  exposure  he's  had.  I'd 


42  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

i 

give  something  to  know  how  it  came  into  his  crazy 
head  to  stand  and  fiddle  outside  a  private  house  in 
a  January  storm.  Why  didn't  he  try  a  cigar  shop 
or  some  other  warm  spot  where  he  could  pass  the 
hat  ?  That's  what  Louis  must  find  out  for  me,  eh  ? 
Len,  that  was  great  music  of  his,  wasn't  it  ?  The 
fellow  ought  to  have  a  job  in  a  hotel  orchestra, 
Louis  and  I  between  us  might  get  him  one." 

Burns  went  to  bed  still  working  on  this  problem, 
and  Ellen  rejoiced  that  it  had  superseded  the 
anxieties  of  the  past  day.  Next  morning  he  was 
early  at  the  little  foreigner's  bedside,  to  find  him 
resting  quietly,  the  fever  gone,  and  only  the  intense 
fatigue  remaining,  the  cure  for  which  was  simply 
rest  and  food. 

"Shall  we  let  him  stay  till  he's  fit?"  Burns 
asked  his  wife. 

"Of  course.  Both  Cynthia  and  Amy  are  much 
interested,  and  between  them  he  will  have  all  he 
needs." 

"And  I'll  bring  Louis  out,  if  I  have  to  pay  for  a 
waiter  to  take  his  place,"  promised  Burns. 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word.  When  he  returned 
that  afternoon  from  the  daily  visit  to  the  city 
hospital,  where  he  had  always  many  patients,  he 
brought  with  him  in  the  powerful  roadster  which 
he  drove  himself  a  dark-faced,  pointed  moustached 
countryman  of  little  Hungary,  who  spoke  tolerable 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  43 

English,  and  was  much  pleased  and  flattered  to  be 
of  service  to  the  big  doctor  whom  he  was  accus 
tomed  to  serve  in  his  best  manner. 

Taken  to  the  bedside,  Louis  gazed  down  at  its 
occupant  with  condescending  but  comprehending 
eyes,  and  spoke  a  few  words  which  caused  the  thin 
face  on  the  pillow  to  break  into  smiles  of  delight, 
as  the  eager  lips  answered  in  the  same  tongue. 
Question  and  answer  followed  in  quick  succession 
and  Louis  was  soon  able  to  put  Burns  in  possession 
of  a  few  significant  facts. 

"He  say  he  come  to  dis  countree  October.  Try 
find  work  New  York — no  good.  He  start  to  valk 
to  countree,  find  vork  farm.  Bad  time.  Seeck, 
cold,  hungree.  Fear  he  spoil  hands  for  veolinn — 
dat's  vhy  he  not  take  vork  on  road,  vat  he  could 
get.  He  museecian — good  one." 

"Does  he  say  that?"  Burns  asked,  amused. 

Louis  nodded.  "Many  museecians  in  Hungary. 
Franz  come  from  Budapest.  No  poor  museecians 
dere.  Budapest  great  ceety — better  Vienna,  Ber 
lin,  Leipsic — oh,  yes!  See,  I  ask  heem." 

He  spoke  to  the  boy  again,  evidently  putting  a 
meaning  question,  for  again  the  other  responded 
with  ardour,  using  his  hands  to  emphasize  his  as 
sertion — for  assertion  it  plainly  was. 

Louis  laughed.  "He  say  ze  countree  of  Franz 
Liszt  know  no  poor  museeck.  He  named  for  Franz 


44  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Liszt.    He  play  beeg  museeck  for  you  and  ze  ladee 
last  night.     So?" 

"He  did — and  took  us  off  our  feet.  Tell  him, 
will  you?" 

"He  no  un'erstand,"  laughed  Louis,  "eef  I  tell 
him  'off  defect.'" 

"That's  so — no  American  idioms  yet  for  him, 
eh?  Well,  say  he  made  us  very  happy  with  his 
wonderful  music.  I'll  wager  that  will  get  over  to 
him." 

Plainly  it  did,  to  judge  by  the  eloquence  of 
Franz's  eyes  and  his  joyous  smile.  With  quick 
speech  he  responded. 

"He  say,"  reported  Louis,  "he  vant  to  vork  for 
you.  No  wagees  till  he  plees  you.  He  do  anyting. 
You  van'  heem?" 

"Well,  I'll  have  to  think  about  that,"  Burns 
temporized.  "But  tell  him  not  to  worry.  We'll 
find  a  job  before  we  let  him  go.  He  ought  to  play 
in  a  restaurant  or  theatre,  oughtn't  he,  Louis?'* 

Louis  shook  his  head.  "More  men  nor  places," 
he  said.  "Butvesee — ve  see." 

"All  right.  Now  ask  him  how  he  came  to  stand 
in  front  of  my  house  in  the  storm  and  fiddle." 

To  this  Louis  obtained  a  long  reply,  at  which  he 
first  shook  his  head,  then  nodded  and  laughed,  with 
a  rejoinder  which  brought  a  sudden  rush  of  tears  to 
the  black  eyes  below.  Louis  turned  to  Burns. 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  45 

"He  say  man  lead  heem  here,  make  heem  stand 
by  window,  make  sign  to  heem  to  play.  I  tell  heem 
man  knew  soft  heart  eenside." 

To  the  edge  of  his  coppery  hair  the  blood  rushed 
into  the  face  of  Red  Pepper  Burns.  Whether  he 
would  be  angry  or  amused  was  for  the  moment  an 
even  chance,  as  Ellen,  watching  him,  understood. 
Then  he  shook  his  fist  with  a  laugh. 

"Just  wait  till  I  catch  that  fellow!"  he  threat 
ened.  "A  nice  way  out  of  his  own  obligations  to  a 
starving  fellow  man." 

He  sent  Louis  back  to  town  on  the  electric  car 
line,  with  a  round  fee  in  his  pocket,  and  the  in 
struction  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  find  Franz 
work  for  his  violin,  himself  promising  to  aid  him  in 
any  plan  he  might  formulate. 

In  three  days  the  young  Hungarian  was  so  far 
himself  that  Burns  had  him  downstairs  to  sit  by 
the  office  fire,  and  a  day  more  put  him  quite  on  his 
feet.  Careful  search  had  discovered  a  temporary 
place  for  him  in  a  small  hotel  orchestra,  whose 
second  violin  was  ill,  and  Burns  agreed  to  take 
him  into  the  city.  The  evening  before  he  was  to 
go,  Ellen  invited  a  number  of  her  friends  and  neigh 
bours  in  to  hear  Franz  play. 

Dressed  in  a  well-fitting  suit  of  blue  serge  Franz 
looked  a  new  being.  The  suit  had  been  con 
tributed  by  Arthur  Chester,  Burns's  neighbour  and 


46  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

good  friend  next  door  upon  the  right,  and  various 
other  accessories  had  been  supplied  by  James 
Macauley,  also  Burns's  neighbour  and  good  friend 
next  door  upon  the  left  and  the  husband  of  Martha 
Macauley,  Ellen's  sister.  Even  so  soon  the  rest 
and  good  food  had  filled  out  the  deepest  hollows  in 
the  emaciated  cheeks,  and  happiness  had  lighted 
the  sombre  eyes.  Those  eyes  followed  Burns  about 
with  the  adoring  gaze  of  a  faithful  dog. 

"It's  evident  you've  attached  one  more  devoted 
follower  to  your  train,  Red,"  whispered  Winifred 
Chester,  in  an  interval  of  the  violin  playing. 

"Well,  he's  a  devotee  worth  having,"  answered 
Burns,  watching  his  protege  as  Franz  looked  over  a 
pile  of  music  with  Ellen,  signifying  his  pleasure 
every  time  they  came  upon  familiar  sheets.  The 
two  had  found  common  ground  in  their  love  of  the 
most  emotional  of  all  the  arts,  and  Ellen  had  dis 
covered  rare  delight  in  accompanying  that  ardent 
violin  in  some  of  the  scores  both  knew  and  loved. 

"He's  as  handsome  as  a  picture  to-night,  isn't 
he?"  Winifred  pursued.  "How  Arthur's  old  blue 
suit  transforms  him.  And  wasn't  it  clever  of 
Ellen  to  have  him  wear  that  soft  white  shirt  with 
the  rolling  collar  and  flowing  black  tie?  It  gives 
him  the  real  musician's  look." 

"Trust  you  women  to  work  for  dramatic  effects," 
murmured  Burns.  "Here  we  go — and  I'll  wager 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  47 

it'll  be  something  particularly  telling,  judging  by 
the  way  they  both  look  keyed  up  to  it.  Ellen 
plays  like  a  virtuoso  herself  to-night,  doesn't 
she?" 

"It's  enough  to  inspire  any  one  to  have  that 
fiddle  at  her  shoulder,"  remarked  James  Macauley, 
who,  hanging  over  the  couch,  had  been  listening  to 
this  bit  of  talk. 

The  performance  which  followed  captured  them 
all,  even  practical  and  energetic  Martha  Macauley, 
who  had  often  avowed  that  she  considered  the 
study  of  music  a  waste  of  time  in  a  busy  world. 

"Though  I  think,  after  all,"  she  observed  to 
Arthur  Chester,  who  lounged  by  her  side,  revelling 
in  the  entertainment  with  the  zest  of  the  man  who 
would  give  his  whole  time  to  affairs  like  these  if  it 
were  not  necessary  for  him  to  make  a  living  at  the 
practice  of  some  more  prosaic  profession,  "it's 
quite  as  much  the  interest  of  having  such  a  stagey 
character  performing  for  us  as  it  is  his  music.  Did 
you  ever  see  any  human  being  throw  his  whole  soul 
into  anything  like  that?  One  couldn't  help  but 
watch  him  if  he  weren't  making  a  sound." 

"It's  certainly  refreshing,  in  a  world  where  we  all 
try  to  cover  up  our  real  feelings,  to  see  anybody 
give  himself  away  so  naively  as  that,"  Chester  re 
plied.  "But  there's  no  doubt  about  the  quality 
of  his  music.  He  was  born,  not  made.  And,  by 


48  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

George,  Len  certainly  plays  up  to  him.  I  didn't 
know  she  had  it  in  her,  for  all  I've  been  admiring 
her  accomplishments  for  four  years." 

"Ellen's  all  temperament,  anyway,"  said  Ellen's 
sister. 

Chester  looked  at  her  curiously.  Martha  was  a 
fine-looking  young  woman,  in  a  very  wholesome 
and  clean-cut  fashion.  There  was  no  feminine 
artfulness  in  the  way  she  bound  her  hair  smoothly 
upon  her  head,  none  in  the  plain  cut  of  her  simple 
evening  attire,  absolutely  none  in  her  manner. 
Glancing  from  Martha  to  her  sister,  as  he  had  often 
done  before  in  wonderment  at  the  contrast  between 
them,  he  noted  as  usual  how  exquisitely  Ellen  was 
dressed,  though  quite  as  simply,  in  a  way,  as  her 
practical  sister.  But  in  every  line  of  her  smoke- 
blue  silken  frock  was  the  most  subtle  art,  as 
Chester,  who  had  a  keen  eye  for  such  matters  and  a 
fastidious  taste,  could  readily  recognize.  From  the 
crown  of  her  dark  head  to  the  toe  of  the  blue 
slipper  with  which  she  pressed  the  pedal  of  the 
great  piano  which  she  had  brought  from  her  old 
home  in  the  South,  she  was  a  picture  to  feast  one's 
eyes  upon. 

"Give  me  temperament,  then — and  let  some 
other  fellow  take  the  common  sense,"  mused  Arthur 
Chester  to  himself.  "Ellen  has  both,  and  Red's 
in  luck.  It  was  a  great  day  for  him  when  the 


49 

lovely  young  widow  came  his  way — and  he  knows 
it.  What  a  home  she  makes  him — what  a  home!" 

His  eyes  roved  about  the  beautiful  living  room, 
as  they  had  often  done  before.  His  own  home,  next 
door,  was  comfortable  and  more  than  ordinarily 
attractive,  but  he  knew  of  no  spot  in  the  town 
which  possessed  the  subtle  charm  of  this  in  which 
he  sat.  His  wife,  Winifred,  was  always  trying  to 
reproduce  within  their  walls  the  indefinable 
quality  which  belonged  to  everything  Ellen 
touched,  and  always  saying  in  despair,  "It's  no 
use — Ellen  is  Ellen,  and  other  people  can't  be  like 
her." 

"Better  let  it  go  at  that,"  her  husband  some 
times  responded.  "You're  good  enough  for  me." 
Which  was  quite  true,  for  Winifred  Chester  was  a 
peculiarly  lovable  young  woman.  He  noted  afresh 
to-night  that  beside  Martha  Macaulay's  somewhat 
heavy  good  looks  Winifred  seemed  a  creature  of 
infinite  and  delightful  variety. 

Perhaps  the  music  had  made  them  all  more  or 
less  analytic,  for  in  an  interval  James  Macauley, 
comfortably  ensconced  in  a  great  winged  chair  for 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  steer  upon  entering 
this  room,  where  he  was  nearly  as  much  at  home  as 
within  his  own  walls,  remarked,  "What  is  there 
about  music  like  that  that  sets  you  to  thinking 
everybody  in  sight  is  about  the  best  ever?" 


50  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"Does  it  have  that  effect  on  you?"  queried 
Burns,  lazily,  from  the  blue  couch.  "That's  a 
good  thing  for  a  fellow  of  a  naturally  critical 
disposition." 

"Critical,  am  I  ?  Why,  within  a  week  I  paid  you 
the  greatest  compliment  in  my  power." 

"Really!" 

"If  it  hadn't  been  for  me  this  company  would 
never  have  been  gathered,  to  listen  to  these  won 
drous  strains." 

"How's  that?"  Burns  turned  on  him  a  suddenly 
interested  eye. 

"Oh,  I'm  not  telling.  It's  enough  that  the  thing 
came  about."  Macauley  looked  around  for  general 
approbation. 

Red  Pepper  sat  up.  "It  was  you  stood  the  poor 
beggar  up  under  my  window,  on  that  howling 
night,  was  it,  Jim  ?  I've  been  looking  for  the  man 
that  did  it." 

"Why,"  said  Macauley  comfortably,  "the  chap 
asked  me  to  point  him  to  a  doctor's  office — said  he 
had  a  bit  of  a  cold.  I  said  you  were  the  one  and 
only  great  and  original  M.D.  upon  earth,  and  as 
luck  would  have  it  he  was  almost  at  your  door.  I 
said  that  if  he  didn't  find  you  in  he  should  come 
over  to  my  house  and  we  would  fix  him  up  with 
cough  drops.  He  thanked  me  and  passed  on.  As 
luck  would  have  it  you  were  in." 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  51 

Red  Pepper  glared  at  him.  A  chuckle  from 
Arthur  Chester  caused  him  to  turn  his  eyes  that 
way.  He  scrutinized  his  guests  in  turn,  and  de 
tected  signs  of  mirth.  Winifred  Chester's  pretty 
shoulders  were  shaking.  Martha  Macauley's  lips 
were  pressed  close  together.  The  others  were  all 
smiling. 

Burns  turned  upon  Winifred,  who  sat  nearest. 
"Tell  me  the  truth  about  this  thing,"  he  com 
manded. 

She  shook  her  head,  but  she  got  no  peace  until  at 
length  she  gave  him  the  tale. 

"Arthur  and  I  were  over  at  Jim's.  He  came  in 
and  said  a  wager  was  up  among  some  men  outside 
as  to  whether  if  that  poor  boy  came  and  fiddled 
under  your  window  you'd  take  him  in  and  keep 
him  over  night.  Somebody'd  been  saying  things 
against  you,  down  street  somewhere —  "  she  hesi 
tated,  glancing  at  her  husband,  who  nodded,  and 
said,  "Go  on — he'll  have  it  out  of  us  now,  any 
how." 

"They  said,"  she  continued,  "that  you  were  the 
most  brutal  surgeon  in  the  State,  and  that  you 
hadn't  any  heart.  Some  of  them  made  this 
wager,  and  they  all  sneaked  up  here  behind  the  one 
that  steered  Franz  to  your  window." 

Burns's  quick  colour  had  leaped  to  his  face  at  this 
recital,  as  they  were  all  accustomed  to  see  it,  but 


52  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

for  an  instant  he  made  no  reply.  Winifred  looked 
at  him  steadily,  as  one  who  was  not  afraid. 

"We  were  all  in  a  dark  window  watching.  If  you 
hadn't  taken  him  in  we  would.  But — O  Red!  We 
knew — we  knew  that  heart  of  yours." 

"And  who  started  that  wager  business?"  Burns 
inquired,  in  a  muffled  voice. 

"Why,  Jim,  of  course.  Who  else  would  take 
such  a  chance?" 

"Was  it  a  serious  wager?" 

"Of  course  it  was." 

"Even  odds?" 

"No,  it  was  Jim  against  the  crowd.  And  for  a 
ridiculously  high  stake." 

Red  Pepper  glared  at  James  Macauley  once 
more.  "You  old  pirate!"  he  growled.  "How 
dared  you  take  such  a  chance  on  me?  And  when 
you  know  I'm  death  on  that  gambling  propensity 
of  yours?" 

"I  know  you  are,"  replied  Macauley,  with  a 
satisfied  grin.  "And  you  know  perfectly  well  I 
haven't  staked  a  red  copper  for  a  year.  But  that 
sort  of  talk  I  overheard  was  too  much  for  me. 
Besides,  I  ran  no  possible  risk  for  my  money.  I 
was  betting  on  a  sure  thing." 

Burns  got  up,  amidst  the  affectionate  laughter 
which  followed  this  explanation,  and  walked  over 
to  where  Franz  stood,  his  eager  eyes  fixed  upon  his 


LITTLE  HUNGARY  53 

new  and  adored  friend,  who,  he  somehow  divined, 
was  the  target  for  some  sort  of  badinage. 

"Little  Hungary,"  he  said,  smiling  into  the  up 
lifted,  boyish  face,  with  his  hand  on  the  slender 
shoulder,  "it  came  out  all  right  that  time,  but 
don't  you  ever  play  under  my  window  again  in  a 
January  blizzard.  If  you  do,  I'll  kick  you  out  into 
the  storm!" 


CHAPTER  III 
ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE 

IS  DOCTOR  BURNS  in ?" 
"He's  not  in.     He  will  be  here  from  two  till 
five  this  afternoon.     Could  you  come  then?" 

Miss  Mathewson  regarded  the  young  stranger 
at  the  door  with  more  than  ordinary  interest.  The 
face  which  was  lifted  to  her  was  one  of  quite  un 
usual  beauty,  with  astonishing  eyes  under  resolute 
dark  brows,  though  the  hair  which  showed  from 
under  the  small  and  close-fitting  hat  of  black  was 
of  a  wonderful  and  contradictory  colour.  It  was 
almost  the  shade,  it  occurred  to  Amy  Mathewson, 
of  that  which  thatched  the  head  of  Red  Pepper 
Burns  himself,  but  it  was  more  picturesque  hair 
than  his,  finer  of  texture,  with  a  hint  of  curl. 
The  mass  of  it  which  showed  at  the  back  as  the 
stranger  turned  her  head  away  for  a  moment, 
evidently  hesitating  over  her  next  course  of  action, 
had  in  it  tints  of  bronze  which  were  more  beautiful 
than  Burns's  coppery  hues. 

"Would  you  care  to  wait?"  inquired  Miss 
Mathewson,  entirely  against  her  own  principles- 

54 


ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE     55 

It  was  not  quite  one  o'clock,  and  Burns  always 
lunched  in  the  city,  after  his  morning  at  the  hos* 
pital,  and  reached  home  barely  in  time  for  those 
afternoon  village  office  hours  which  began  at  two. 
His  assistant  did  not  as  a  rule  encourage  the  arrival 
of  patients  in  the  office  as  early  as  this,  knowing 
that  they  were  apt  to  become  impatient  and  ag 
grieved  by  their  long  wait.  But  something  about 
the  slightly  drooping  figure  of  the  girl  before  her, 
in  her  black  clothes,  with  a  small  handbag  on  her 
arm,  and  a  look  of  appeal  on  her  face,  suggested  to 
the  experienced  nurse  that  here  was  a  patient  who 
must  not  be  turned  away. 

The  girl  looked  up  eagerly.  "If  I  might,"  she 
said  in  a  tone  of  relief.  "I  really  have  nowhere 
to  go  until  I  have  seen  the  Doctor." 

Miss  Mathewson  led  her  in  and  gave  her  the 
most  comfortable  chair  in  the  room,  a  big,  half 
shabby  leather  armchair,  near  the  fireplace  and 
close  beside  a  broad  table  whereon  the  latest 
current  magazines  were  arranged  in  orderly 
piles.  The  girl  sank  into  the  chair  as  if  its  wide 
arms  were  welcome  after  a  weary  morning.  She 
looked  up  at  Miss  Mathewson  with  a  faint  little 
smile. 

"I  haven't  been  sitting  much  to-day,"  she  said. 

"This  first  spring  weather  makes  every  one  feel 
rather  tired,"  replied  Amy,  noting  how  heavy  were 


56  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

the  shadows  under  the  brown  eyes  with  their  aU 
most  black  lashes — an  unusual  combination  with 
the  undeniably  russet  hair. 

From  her  seat  at  the  desk,  where  she  was  post 
ing  Burns's  day  book,  the  nurse  observed  without 
seeming  to  do  so  that  the  slim  figure  in  the  old 
armchair  sat  absolutely  without  moving,  except 
once  when  the  head  resting  against  the  worn 
leather  turned  so  that  the  cheek  lay  next  it.  And 
after  a  very  short  time  Miss  Mathewson  realized 
that  the  waiting  patient  had  fallen  asleep.  She 
studied  her  then,  for  something  about  the  young 
stranger  had  aroused  her  interest. 

The  girl  was  obviously  poor,  for  the  black  suit, 
though  carefully  pressed,  was  of  cheap  material, 
the  velvet  on  the  small  black  hat  had  been  caught 
in  more  than  one  shower,  and  the  black  gloves  had 
been  many  times  painstakingly  mended.  The 
small  feet  alone  showed  that  their  owner  had  al 
lowed  herself  one  luxury,  that  of  good  shoes — and 
the  daintiness  of  those  feet  made  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  observer. 

As  for  the  face  resting  against  the  chair  back,  it 
was  flushed  after  a  fashion  which  suggested  illness 
rather  than  health,  and  Miss  Mathewson  realized 
presently  that  the  respiration  of  the  sleeper  was 
not  quite  what  it  should  be.  Whether  this  were  due 
to  fatigue  or  coming  illness  she  could  not  tell. 


ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE     57 

Half-past  one!  The  first  early  caller  was  slowing 
a  small  motor  at  the  curb  outside  when  Amy 
Mathewson  gently  touched  the  girl's  arm.  "Come 
into  the  other  room,  please,"  she  said. 

The  brown  eyes  opened  languidly.  The  black- 
gloved  hand  clutched  at  the  handbag,  and  the 
girl  rose.  "I'm  so  sorry,"  she  murmured.  "I  don't 
know  how  I  came  to  go  to  sleep." 

"You  were  tired  out.  If  I  had  known  I  should 
have  brought  you  in  here  before,"  Amy  said,  lead 
ing  her  into  the  consulting  room.  "It  is  still  half 
an  hour  before  Doctor  Burns  will  be  in,  and  you 
must  lie  here  on  his  couch  while  you  wait." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  but  I  ought  not  to  go  to  sleep. 
I — have  you  just  a  minute  to  spare?  I  should  like 
to  show  you  a  little  book  I  am  selling — 

Miss  Mathewson  suffered  a  sudden  revulsion  of 
feeling.  So  this  girl  was  only  a  book  agent.  First 
on  the  list  of  what  by  two  o'clock  would  be  a  good- 
sized  assemblage  of  waiting  patients,  she  must  not 
be  allowed  to  take  Doctor  Burns's  time  to  exploit 
her  wares.  Yet,  even  as  Amy  regretted  having 
brought  a  book  agent  into  this  inner  sanctum,  the 
girl  looked  up  from  searching  in  her  handbag  and 
seemed  to  recognize  the  prejudice  she  had  excited. 

"Oh,  but  I'm  a  patient,  too,"  she  said  with  a 
little  smile.  "I  didn't  expect  to  take  the  Doctor's 
time  telling  him  about  the  book-  But  you — I 


58  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

thought  you  might  be  interested.  It's  a  little  book 
of  bedtime  stories  for  children.  They  are  very 
jolly  little  tales.  Would  you  care  to  see  it?" 

Now  Amy  Mathewson  was  the  fortunate  or  un 
fortunate — as  you  happen  to  regard  such  things — 
possessor  of  a  particularly  warm  heart,  and  the 
result  of  this  appeal  was  that  she  took  the  book 
away  with  her  into  the  outer  office,  promising  to 
look  it  over  if  the  seller  of  it  would  lie  down  upon 
the  couch  and  rest  quietly.  She  was  convinced 
that  the  girl  was  much  more  than  weary — she  was 
very  far  from  well.  The  revealing  light  of  that 
consulting  room  had  struck  upon  the  upturned 
face  and  had  shown  Miss  Mathewson's  trained 
eyes  certain  signs  which  alarmed  her. 

So  it  came  about  that  Red  Pepper  Burns,  com 
ing  in  ruddy  from  his  twelve-mile  dash  home,  and 
feeling  particularly  fit  for  the  labours  of  the  after 
noon  in  consequence  of  having  found  every  hos 
pital  patient  of  his  own  on  the  road  to  recovery 
— two  of  them  having  taken  a  right-about-face 
from  a  condition  which  the  day  before  had  pointed 
toward  trouble — discovered  his  first  office  patient 
lying  fast  asleep  upon  the  consulting  room  couch. 

"She  seemed  so  worn  out  I  put  her  here,"  ex 
plained  Miss  Mathewson,  standing  beside  him. 
"She  falls  asleep  the  moment  she  is  off  her 
feet." 


ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE     59 

"  Hm — m,"  was  his  reply  as  he  thrust  his  arms  into 
his  white  office-jacket.  "Well,  best  wake  her  up, 
though  it  seems  a  pity.  Looks  as  if  she'd  been  on 
a  hunger  strike,  eh?"  he  added  under  his  breath. 

Miss  Mathewson  had  the  girl  awake  again  in 
a  minute,  and  she  sat  up,  an  expression  of  con 
trition  crossing  her  face  as  she  caught  sight  of  the 
big  doctor  at  the  other  side  of  the  room,  his  back 
toward  her.  When  Burns  turned,  at  Amy's  sum 
mons,  he  beheld  the  slim  figure  sitting  straight  on 
the  edge  of  the  broad  couch,  the  brown  eyes  fixed 
on  him. 

"Tired  out?"  he  asked  pleasantly.  "Take  this 
chair,  please,  so  I  can  see  all  you  have  to  tell  me — 
and  a  few  things  you  don't  tell  me." 

It  did  not  take  him  long.  His  eyes  on  the  face 
which  was  too  flushed,  his  fingers  on  the  pulse 
which  beat  too  fast,  his  thermometer  registering  a 
temperature  too  high,  all  told  him  that  here  was 
work  for  him.  The  questions  he  asked  brought 
replies  which  confirmed  his  fears.  Nothing  in  his 
manner  indicated,  however,  that  he  was  doing  con 
siderable  quick  thinking.  His  examination  over? 
he  sat  back  in  his  chair  and  began  a  second  series 
of  questions,  speaking  in  a  more  than  ordinarily 
quiet  but  cheerful  way. 

"Will  you  tell  me  just  a  bit  about  your  personal 
affairs?"  he  asked.  "I  understand  that  you  come 


60  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

from  some  distance.  Have  you  a  home  and 
family  ? " 

"No  family — for  the  last  two  years,  since  my 
father  died." 

"And  no  home?" 

"If  I  am  ill,  Doctor  Burns,  I  will  look  after 
myself." 

He  studied  her.  The  brown  eyes  met  the  scruti 
nizing  hazel  ones  without  flinching.  Whether  or 
not  the  spirit  flinched  he  could  not  be  sure.  The 
hazel  eyes  were  very  kindly. 

"You  have  relatives  somewhere  whom  we  might 
let  know  of  this?" 

She  shook  her  head  determinedly.  Her  head 
lifted  ever  so  little. 

"You  are  quite  alone  in  the  world?" 

"For  all  present  purposes — yes,  Doctor  Burns." 

"I  can't  just  believe,"  he  said  gently,  "that  it 
is  not  very  important  to  somebody  to  know  if  you 
are  ill." 

"It  is  just  my  affair,"  she  answered  with  equal 
courtesy  of  manner  but  no  less  finally.  "  Believe 
me,  please — and  tell  me  what  to  do.  Shall  I  not  be 
better  to-morrow — or  in  a  day  or  two?" 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Then,  "It  is  not 
a  time  for  you  to  be  without  friends,"  said  Red 
Pepper  Burns.  "I  will  prove  to  you  that  you  have 
them  at  hand.  After  that  you  will  find  there  are 


ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE    61 

others.  I  am  going  to  take  you  to  a  pleasant  place 
I  know  of,  where  you  will  have  nothing  to  do  but 
to  lie  still  and  rest  and  get  well.  The  best  of 
nurses  will  look  after  you.  You  will  obey  orders 
for  a  little — my  orders,  if  you  want  to  trust  me '* 

"Where  is  this  place?"  The  question  was  a 
little  breathless. 

"Where  do  you  guess?" 

"In— a  hospital?" 

"In  one  of  the  best  in  the  world." 

"I  am — pretty  ill  then?" 

"It's  a  bit  of  a  wonder,"  said  Burns  in  his 
quietest  tone,  "how  you  have  kept  around  these 
last  four  days.  I  wish  you  hadn't." 

"If  I  hadn't,"  said  the  girl  rather  faintly,  "I 
shouldn't  have  been  in  this  town  and  I  shouldn't 
have  come  to  Doctor  Burns.  So — I'm  glad  I  did." 

"Good!"  said  Burns,  smiling.  "It's  fine  to 
start  with  the  confidence  of  one's  patient.  Fm 
glad  you're  going  to  trust  me.  Now  we'll  take 
you  to  another  room  where  you  can  lie  down  again 
till  my  office  hours  are  over  and  I  can  run  into  the 
city  with  you." 

He  rose,  beckoning.  But  his  patient  protested: 
"Please  tell  me  how  to  get  there.  I  can  go  per 
fectly  well.  My  head  is  better,  I  think." 

"That's  lucky.  But  the  first  of  my  orders; 
Miss  Linton,  is  that  you  come  with  me  now." 


62  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

He  summoned  Miss  Mathewson,  gave  her  di 
rections,  and  dismissed  the  two.  In  ten  minutes 
the  heavy  eyes  were  again  closed,  while  their 
owner  lay  motionless  again  upon  a  bed  in  an  inner 
room  which  was  often  used  for  such  purposes. 

"I'm  sorry  I  can't  take  her  in  now,"  Burns  said 
to  Amy  presently  in  an  interval  between  patients. 
"I  don't  want  to  call  the  ambulance  out  here  for 
a  walking  case,  and  there's  no  need  of  startling 
her  with  it,  anyhow.  I  wish  I  had  some  way  to 
send  her." 

"Mr.  Jordan  King  just  came  into  the  offi«e. 
His  car  is  outside.  Couldn't  he  take  her  in?" 

"Of  course  he  could — and  would,  I've  no  doubt. 
He's  only  after  his  mother's  prescription.  Send 
him  in  here  next,  will  you,  please?" 

To  the  tall,  well-built,  black-eyed  young  man 
who  answered  this  summons  in  some  surprise  at 
being  admitted  before  his  turn,  Burns  spoke 
crisply: 

"Here's  the  prescription,  Jord,  and  you'll  have 
to  take  it  to  Wood's  to  get  it  filled.  I  hope  it'll  do 
your  mother  a  lot  of  good,  but  I'm  not  promising 
till  I've  tried  it  out  pretty  well.  Now  will  you  do 
me  a  favour'" 

"Anything  you  like,  Doctor." 

"Thanks.  I'm  sending  a  patient  to  the  hospital 
— a  stranger  stranded  here  ill.  She  ought  not  to 


ANNE  LINTON'S  TEMPERATURE     63 

be  out  of  bed  another  hour,  though  she  walked 
to  the  office  and  would  walk  away  again  if  I'd  let 
her — which  I  won't.  I  can't  get  off  for  three  hours 
yet.  Will  you  take  her  in  to  the  Good  Samaritan 
for  me?  I'll  telephone  ahead,  and  some  one  will 
meet  her  at  the  door.  All  right?" 

He  looked  up.  Jordan  King — young  civil  en 
gineer  of  rising  reputation  in  spite  of  the  family 
wealth  which  would  have  made  him  independent  of 
his  own  exertions,  if  he  could  possibly  have  been 
induced  by  an  adoring,  widowed  mother  to  remain 
under  her  wing — stood  watching  him  with  a  smile 
on  his  character-betraying  lips. 

"You  ought  to  have  an  executive  position  of 
some  sort,  Doctor  Burns,"  he  observed,  "you're 
so  strong  on  orders.  I've  got  mine.  Where's  the 
lady  ?  Do  I  have  to  be  silent  or  talkative?  Is  she 
to  have  pillows  ?  Am  I  to  help  her  out?" 

"She'll  walk  out — but  that  and  the  walk  in  will 
be  the  last  she'll  take  for  some  time.  Talk  as 
much  as  you  like;  it'll  help  her  to  forget  that  she's 
alone  in  the  world  at  present  except  for  us.  Go  out 
to  your  car;  I'll  send  her  out  with  Miss  Mathew- 
son." 

Burns  turned  to  his  desk,  and  King  obediently 
went  out.  Five  minutes  later,  as  he  stood  waiting 
beside  his  car,  a  fine  but  hard-used  roadster  of  im 
pressive  lines  and  plenty  of  power,  the  office  nurse 


64  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

and  her  patient  emerged.  King  noted  in  some 
surprise  the  slender  young  figure,  the  interest- 
compelling  face  with  its  too  vivid  colour  in  cheeks 
that  looked  as  if  ordinarily  they  were  white,  the 
apparel  which  indicated  lack  of  means,  though  the 
bearing  of  the  wearer  unmistakably  suggested 
social  training. 

"I  thought  she'd  be  an  elderly  one  somehow," 
he  said  in  congratulation  of  himself.  "Jolly,  what 
hair!  Poor  little  girl;  she  does  look  sick — but 
plucky.  Hope  I  can  get  her  in  all  right." 

Outwardly  he  was  the  picture  of  respectful  at 
tention  as  Miss  Mathewson  presented  him,  calling 
the  girl  "Miss  Linton,"  and  bidding  him  wrap  her 
warmly  against  the  spring  wind. 

"I'll  take  the  best  care  of  her  I  know,"  he  prom 
ised  with  a  friendly  smile.  He  tucked  a  warm  rug 
around  her,  taking  special  pains  with  her  small  feet, 
whose  well-chosen  covering  he  did  not  fail  to  note. 
"All  right?"  he  asked  as  he  finished. 

"Very  comfortable,  thank  you.  It's  ever  so 
kind  of  you." 

"Glad  to  do  anything  for  Doctor  Burns,"  King 
responded,  taking  his  place  beside  her.  "Now  shall 
we  go  fast  or  slow?" 

"Just  as  you  like,  please.  I  don't  feel  very  ill 
just  now,  and  this  air  feels  good  on  my  face." 


CHAPTER  IV 
TWO  RED  HEADS 

JORDAN  KING  set  his  own  speed  in  the 
powerful  roadster,  reflecting  that  Miss  Linton, 
to  judge  from  her  worn  black  clothes,  was 
probably  not  accustomed  to  motoring  and  so 
making  the  pace  a  moderate  one.  Fast  or  slow, 
it  would  not  take  long  to  cover  the  twelve  miles 
over  the  macadamized  road  to  the  hospital  in  the 
city,  and  if  it  was  to  be  her  last  bath  in  the  good 
outdoors  for  some  time,  as  the  doctor  had  said — • 
King  drew  a  long  breath,  filling  his  own  sturdy 
lungs  with  the  balmy  yet  potent  April  air,  feeling 
very  sorry  for  the  unknown  little  person  by  his 
side. 

"Would  you  rather  I  didn't  talk?"  he  inquired 
when  a  mile  or  two  had  been  covered  in  silence. 

She  lifted  her  eyes  to  his,  and  for  the  first  time  he 
got  a  good  look  into  them.  They  were  very  won 
derful  eyes,  and  none  the  less  wonderful  because 
of  the  fever  which  made  them  almost  uncannily 
brilliant  between  their  dark  lashes. 

"Oh,  I  wish  you  would  talk,  if  you  don't  mind!" 
65 


66  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

she  answered — and  he  noted  as  he  had  at  first  how 
warmly  pleasant  were  the  tones  of  her  voice,  which 
was  a  bit  deeper  than  one  would  have  expected. 
"I've  heard  nobody  talk  for  days — except  to  say 
they  didn't  care  to  buy  my  book." 

"Your  book?     Have  you  written  a  book?" 

"I'm  selling  one."  This  astonished  him,  but  he 
did  not  let  it  show.  It  was  certainly  enough  to 
make  any  girl  ill  to  have  to  go  about  selling  books. 
He  wondered  how  it  happened.  She  opened  her 
handbag  and  took  out  the  small  book.  "I  don't 
want  to  sell  you  one,"  she  said.  "You  wouldn't 
have  any  use  for  it.  It's  a  little  set  of  stories  for 
children." 

"  But  I  do  want  to  buy  one,"  he  protested.  "  I've 
a  lot  of  nieces  and  nephews  always  coming  at  me 
for  stories." 

She  shook  her  head.  "You  can't  buy  one.  I'd 
like  to  give  you  one  if  you  would  take  it,  to  show 
you  how  I  appreciate  this  beautiful  drive." 

"Of  course  I'll  take  it,"  he  said  quickly,  "and 
delighted  at  the  chance."  He  slipped  the  book  into 
his  pocket.  "As  for  the  drive,  it's  much  jollier  not 
to  be  covering  the  ground  alone.  I  wish,  though 
• "  and  he  stopped,  feeling  that  he  was  prob 
ably  going  to  say  the  wrong  thing. 

She  seemed  to  know  what  it  would  have  been. 
"You're  sorry  to  be  taking  me  to  the  hospital?" 


TWO  RED  HEADS  67 

she  suggested.  "You  needn't  be.  I  didn't  want 
to  go,  just  at  first,  but  then — I  felt  I  could  trust 
the  Doctor.  He  was  so  kind,  and  his  hair  was 
so  like  mine,  he  seemed  like  a  sort  of  big  older 
brother." 

"Red  Pepper  Burns  seems  like  that  to  a  lot  of 
people,  including  myself.  I  don't  look  like  much  of 
a  candidate  for  illness,  but  I've  had  an  accident  or 
two,  and  he's  pulled  me  through  in  great  shape. 
You're  right  in  trusting  him  and  you  can  keep 
right  on,  to  the  last  ditch —  He  stopped  short 

again,  with  an  inward  thrust  at  himself  for  being 
so  blundering  in  his  suggestions  to  this  girl,  who, 
for  all  he  knew,  might  be  on  her  way  to  that  "last 
ditch"  from  which  not  even  Burns  could  save  her. 

But  the  girl  herself  seemed  to  have  paused  at  his 
first  phrase.  "What  did  you  call  the  Doctor?"  she 
asked,  turning  her  eyes  upon  him  again. 

"What  did  I— oh!  'Red  Pepper.'  Yes— I've  no 
business  to  call  him  that,  of  course,  and  I  don't  to 
his  face,  though  his  friends  who  are  a  bit  older  than 
I  usually  do,  and  people  speak  of  him  that  way.  It's 
his  hair,  of  course — and — well,  he  has  rather  a  quick 
temper.  People  with  that  coloured  hair —  But 
you're  wrong  in  saying  yours  is  like  his,"  he  added 
quickly. 

For  the  first  time  he  saw  a  smile  touch  her  lips. 
"  So  he  has  a  quick  temper,"  she  mused.  "  I'm  glad 


68  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

of  that — I  have  one  myself.  It  goes  with  the  hair 
surely  enough." 

"It  goes  with  some  other  things,"  ventured 
Jordan  King,  determined,  if  he  made  any  more 
mistakes,  to  make  them  on  the  side  of  encourage 
ment.  "Pluck,  and  endurance,  and  keeping  jolly 
when  you  don't  feel  so — if  you  don't  mind  my 
saying  it." 

"One  has  to  have  a  few  of  those  things  to  start 
out  into  the  world  with,"  said  Miss  Linton  slowly, 
looking  straight  ahead  again. 

"One  certainly  does.  Doctor  Burns  understands 
that  as  well  as  any  man  I  know.  And  he  likes  to 
find  those  things  in  other  people."  Then  with  tales 
of  some  of  the  Doctor's  experiences  which  young 
King  had  heard  he  beguiled  the  way;  and  by  the 
time  he  had  told  Miss  Linton  a  story  or  two  about 
certain  experiences  of  his  own  in  the  Rockies,  the 
car  was  approaching  the  city.  Presently  they  were 
drawing  up  before  the  group  of  wide-porched,  long 
buildings,  not  unattractive  in  aspect,  which  formed 
the  hospital  known  as  the  Good  Samaritan. 

"It's  a  pretty  good  place,"  announced  King  in  a 
matter-of-fact  way,  though  inwardly  he  was  suffer 
ing  a  decided  pang  of  sympathy  for  the  young 
stranger  he  was  to  leave  within  its  walls.  "And 
the  Doctor  said  he'd  have  some  one  meet  us  who 
knew  all  about  you,  so  there'd  be  no  fuss." 


TWO  RED  HEADS  69 

He  leaped  out  and  came  around  to  her  side.  She 
began  to  thank  him  once  more,  but  he  cut  her  short. 
"  I'm  going  in  with  you,  if  I  may,"  he  said.  "  Some 
thing  might  go  wrong  about  their  understanding, 
and  I  could  save  you  a  bit  of  bother." 

She  made  no  objection,  and  he  helped  her  out. 
He  kept  his  hand  under  her  arm  as  they  went  up 
the  steps,  and  did  not  let  her  go  until  they  were  in  a 
small  reception  room,  where  they  were  asked  to  wait 
for  a  minute.  He  realized  now  more  than  he  had 
done  before  her  weakness  and  the  sense  of  loneli 
ness  that  was  upon  her.  He  stood  beside  her,  hat 
in  hand,  wishing  he  had  some  right  to  let  her  know 
more  definitely  than  he  had  ventured  to  do  how 
sorry  he  was  for  her,  and  how  she  could  count  on 
his  thinking  about  her  as  a  brother  might  while  she 
was  within  these  walls. 

But  Burns's  message  evidently  had  taken  effect, 
as  his  messages  usually  did,  for  after  a  very  brief 
wait  two  figures  in  uniform  appeared,  one  showing 
the  commanding  presence  of  a  person  in  authority, 
the  other  wearing  the  pleasantly  efficient  aspect  of 
the  active  nurse.  Miss  Linton  was  to  be  taken  to 
her  room  at  once,  the  necessary  procedure  for  ad 
mittance  being  attended  to  later. 

Miss  Linton  seemed  to  know  something  about 
hospitals,  for  she  offered  instant  remonstrance. 
"It's  a  mistake,  I  think,"  she  said,  lifting  her  head 


yo  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

as  if  it  were  very  heavy,  but  speaking  firmly.  "I 
prefer  not  to  have  a  room.  Please  put  me  in  your 
least  expensive  ward." 

The  person  in  authority  smiled.  "Doctor 
Burns  said  room,"  she  returned.  "Nobody 
here  is  accustomed  to  dispute  Doctor  Burns's 
orders." 

"But  I  must  dispute  them,"  persisted  the  girl^ 
"I  am  not — willing — to  take  a  room." 

"Don't  concern  yourself  about  that  now,"  said 
the  other.  "You  can  settle  it  with  the  Doctor 
when  he  comes  by  and  by." 

Jordan  King  inwardly  chuckled.  "I  wonder  if 
it's  going  to  be  a  case  of  two  red  heads,"  he  said  to 
himself.  "  I'll  bet  on  R.  P." 

The  nurse  put  her  arm  through  Miss  Linton's. 
"Come,"  she  said  gently.  "You  ought  not  to  be 
standing." 

The  girl  turned  to  King,  and  put  out  her  small 
hand  in  its  mended  glove.  He  grasped  it  and  dared 
to  give  it  a  strong  pressure,  and  to  say  in  a  low 
tone:  "It'll  be  all  right,  you  know.  Keep  a  stiff 
upper  lip.  We're  not  going  to  forget  you."  He 
very  nearly  said  "I." 

"Good-bye,"  she  said.  "I  shall  not  forget  how 
kind  you've  been." 

Then  she  was  gone  through  the  big  door,  the  tall 
nurse  beside  her  supporting  steps  which  seemed 


TWO  RED  HEADS  71 

suddenly  to  falter,  and  King  was  staring  after  her, 
feeling  his  heart  contract  with  sympathy. 

Four  hours  later  Anne  Linton  opened  her  eyes, 
after  an  interval  of  unconsciousness  which  had 
seemed  to  the  nurse  who  looked  in  now  and  then  less 
like  a  sleep  than  a  stupor,  to  find  a  pair  of  broad 
shoulders  within  her  immediate  horizon,  and  to  feel 
the  same  lightly  firm  pressure  on  her  wrist  that 
she  had  felt  before  that  afternoon.  She  looked 
up  slowly  into  Burns's  eyes. 

"Not  so  bad,  is  it?"  said  his  low  and  reassuring 
voice.  "Bed  more  comfortable  than  doctor's 
office  chairs?  Won't  mind  if  you  don't  ring  any 
door  bells  to-morrow?  Just  let  everything  go  and 
don't  worry — and  you'll  be  all  right." 

"This  room—  "  began  the  weary  young  voice — 
she  was  really  much  more  weary  now  that  she  had 
stopped  trying  to  keep  up  than  seemed  at  all 
reasonable — "I  can't  possibly — 

"  It's  just  the  place  for  you.  Don't  do  any  think 
ing  on  that  point.  You  know  you  agreed  to  take 
my  orders,  and  this  is  one  of  them." 

"But  I  can't  possibly 

"I  said  they  were  my  orders,"  repeated  Burns. 
"  But  that  was  a  misstatement.  They're  the  orders 
of  some  one  else,  more  powerful  than  I  am  under 
this  roof — and  that's  saying  something,  I  assure 


72  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

you.  I  think  you'll  have  to  meet  my  wife.  She's 
come  on  purpose  to  see  you.  She  was  away  when 
you  were  at  the  office." 

He  beckoned,  and  another  figure  moved  quietly 
into  range  of  the  brown  eyes  which  were  smolder 
ing  with  the  first  advances  of  the  fever.  This 
figure  came  around  to  the  other  side  of  the  narrow 
high  bed  and  sat  down  beside  it.  Miss  Linton 
looked  into  the  face,  as  it  seemed  to  her,  of  one  of 
the  most  attractive  women  she  had  ever  seen.  It 
was  a  face  which  looked  down  at  her  with  the 
sweetest  sympathy  in  its  expression,  and  yet  with 
that  same  high  cheer  which  was  in  the  face  of  the 
man  on  the  other  side  of  the  bed 

"My  dear  little  girl,"  said  a  low,  rich  voice, 
"this  is  my  room,  and  I  often  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  my  special  friends  use  it.  And  I  come 
to  see  them  here.  When  you  are  getting  well,  as 
you  will  be  by  and  by,  I  can  have  much  nicer 
talks  with  you  than  if  you  were  in  a  ward.  Now 
that  you  understand,  you  will  let  me  have  my 
way?" 

The  burning  brown  eyes  looked  into  the  soft 
black  ones  for  a  full  minute,  then,  with  a  long- 
drawn  breath,  the  tense  expression  in  the  stranger's 
relaxed.  "I  see,"  said  the  weary  voice.  "You  are 
used  to  having  your  way — just  as  he  is.  I'll 
have  to  let  you  because  1  haven't  any  strength  )eft 


TWO  RED  HEADS  73 

to  fight  with.  You  are  wonderfully  kind.  But — • 
I'm  not  a  little  girl." 

Ellen  Burns  smiled.  "We'll  play  you  are,  for  a 
while,"  she  said.  "And — I  want  you  to  know 
that,  little  or  big,  you  are  my  friend.  So  now  you 
have  both  Doctor  Burns  and  me,  and  you  are  not 
alone  any  more." 

The  heavy  lashes  closed  over  the  brown  eyes,  and 
the  lids  were  held  tightly  shut  as  if  to  keep  tears 
back.  Seeing  this,  Ellen  rose. 

"Red,"  she  said,  "are  you  going  to  let  us  have 
Miss  Arden  ? " 

"Won't  anybody  else  do?" 

"Do  you  need  her  badly  somewhere  else?" 

"If  there  were  ten  of  her  I  could  use  them  all!" 
declared  her  husband  emphatically. 

"Nevertheless — 

Red  Pepper  Burns  got  up.  He  summoned  a 
nurse  waiting  just  outside  the  door.  "Please  send 
Miss  Arden  here  for  a  minute,"  he  requested. 
Then  he  turned  back.  "Are  you  satisfied  with 
your  power?"  he  asked  his  wife. 

She  nodded.  "Quite.  But  I  think  you  feel,  as 
I  do,  that  this  is  one  of  the  ten  places  where  she 
will  be  better  than  another." 

"She's  a  wonder,  all  right." 

The  patient  in  the  bed  presently  was  bidden  to 
taok  at  her  new  nurse,  one  who  was  to  take  care 


74  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

of  her  much  of  the  time.  She  lifted  her  heavy  eyes 
unwillingly,  then  she  drew  another  deep  breath  of 
relief.  "I  would  rather  have  you,"  she  murmured 
to  the  serene  brow,  the  kind  eyes,  the  gently  smil 
ing  lips  of  the  girl  who  stood  beside  her. 

"There's  a  tribute,"  laughed  Burns  softly. 
"They  all  feel  like  that  when  they  look  at  you, 
Selina.  And  what  Mrs.  Burns  wants  she  usually 
gets.  You  may  special  this  case  to-night,  if  you 
are  ready  to  begin  night  duty  again." 

"I  am  quite  ready,"  said  Miss  Arden. 

Burns  turned  to  the  bed  again.  "You  are  in  the 
best  hands  we  have  to  give  you,"  he  said.  "You 
are  to  trust  everything  to  those  hands.  Good 
night.  I'll  see  you  in  the  morning." 

"Good-night,  dear,"  whispered  Mrs.  Burns, 
bending  for  an  instant  over  the  bed. 

"Oh  you  angels!"  murmured  the  girl  as  they 
left  her,  her  eyes  following  them. 

It  was  ten  days  later,  in  the  middle  of  a  wonder 
ful  night  in  early  May,  that  Miss  Arden,  begin 
ning  to  be  sure  that  the  case  which  had  interested 
her  so  much  was  going  to  give  her  a  hard  time  be 
fore  it  should  be  through,  listened  to  words  which 
roused  in  her  deeper  wonder  than  she  had  yet  felt 
for  the  most  unusual  patient  she  had  had  in  a 
long  time.  A  'though  there  was  as  yet  nothing  that 


TWO  RED  HEADS  75 

could  be  called  real  delirium,  a  tendency  to  talk  in 
a  light-headed  sort  of  way  was  becoming  notice 
able.  Sitting  by  the  window,  the  one  light  in  the 
room  deeply  shaded,  she  heard  the  voice  suddenly 
say: 

"This  evens  things  up  a  little,  doesn't  it?  I 
know  a  little  more  about  it  now — you  must  realize 
that,  if  you  are  keeping  track  of  me — and  I  know 
you  are— you  would — even  from  another  world. 
Things  aren't  fair — they  aren't.  That  you  should 
have  to  suffer  all  you  did,  to  bring  you  to  that 
pass — while  I—  But  I  know  a  good  deal  about 
it  now—really  I  do.  And  I'm  going  to  know  more. 
I  didn't  sell  a  single  book  to-day.  You  had  lots  of 
such  days,  didn't  you  ?  Poor — pale — tired — heart 
sick — heartbroken  girl!" 

A  little  mirthless  laugh  sounded  from  the  bed. 
"I  wonder  how  many  people  ever  let  a  person  who 
is  selling  something  at  the  door  get  into  the  house. 
And  if  they  let  her  in,  do  they  ever,  ever  ask  her  to 
sit  down?  The  places  where  I've  stood,  telling 
them  about  the  book,  while  they  were  telling  me 
they  didn't  want  it — stood  and  stood — and  stood 
— with  great  easy  chairs  in  sight!  Oh,  that  chair 
in  my  doctor's  office— it  was  the  first  chair  I'd  sat 
in  that  whole  morning.  I  went  to  sleep  in  it,  I 
think." 

There  followed  a  long  silence,  as  if  the  thought 


76  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

of  sleep  had  brought  it  on.  But  then  the  rambling 
talk  began  again. 

"His  hair  is  red — red,  like  mine.  I  think  that's 
why  his  heart  is  so  warm.  Yet  her  heart  is  warm, 
too,  and  her  hair  is  almost  black.  The  other  man's 
hair  was  pretty  dark,  too,  and  his  heart  seemed — 
well,  not  exactly  cold.  Did  he  send  me  some 
daffodils  the  other  day  ?  I  can't  seem  to  remember. 
It  seems  as  if  I  had  seen  some — pretty  things — • 
lovely,  springy  things.  Perhaps  Mrs. — the  red 
headed  doctor's  wife — queer  I  can't  think  of  their 
names — perhaps  she  sent  them.  It  would  be  like 
her." 

The  nurse's  glance  wandered,  in  the  faint  light, 
to  where  a  great  jar  of  daffodils  stood  upon  the 
farther  window  sill,  their  heads  nodding  faintly  in 
the  night  breeze.  Jordan  King's  card,  which  had 
come  with  them,  was  tucked  away  in  a  drawer 
near  by  with  two  other  cards,  bearing  the  same 
name,  which  had  accompanied  other  flowers. 
Miss  Arden  doubted  if  her  patient  realized  who 
had  sent  any  of  them.  Afterward — if  there  was 
to  be  an  afterward — she  would  show  the  cards  to 
her.  Miss  Arden,  like  many  other  people,  knew 
Jordan  King  by  reputation,  for  the  family  was  an 
old  and  established  one  in  the  city,  and  the  early 
success  of  the  youngest  son  in  a  line  not  often 
taken  up  by  the  sons  of  such  families  was  note- 


TWO  RED  HEADS  77 

worthy.  Also  he  was  good  to  look  at,  and  Miss 
Arden,  experienced  nurse  though  she  was  and  de 
voted  to  her  profession,  had  not  lost  her  appre 
ciation  of  youth  and  health  and  good  looks  in  those 
who  were  not  her  patients. 

Unexpectedly,  at  this  hour  of  the  night — it  was 
well  toward  one  o'clock — the  door  suddenly  opened 
very  quietly  and  a  familiar  big  figure  entered. 
Springing  up  to  meet  Doctor  Burns,  Miss  Arden 
showed  no  surprise.  It  was  a  common  thing  for 
this  man,  summoned  to  the  hospital  at  unholy 
hours  for  some  critical  case,  to  take  time  to  look 
in  on  another  patient  not  technically  in  need  of 
him. 

The  head  on  the  pillow  turned  at  the  slight 
sound  beside  it.  Two  wide  eyes  stared  up  at 
Burns.  "You've  made  a  mistake,  I  think,"  said 
the  patient's  voice,  politely  yet  firmly.  "My  doc 
tor  has  red  hair.  I  know  him  by  that.  Your  hair 
is  black." 

"I  presume  it  is,  in  this  light,"  responded  Burns, 
sitting  down  by  the  bed.  "It's  pretty  red,  though, 
by  daylight.  In  that  case  will  you  let  me  stay  a 
minute  ? "  His  fingers  pressed  the  pulse.  Then  his 
hand  closed  over  hers  with  a  quieting  touch. 
"Since  you're  awake,"  he  said,  "you  may  as  well 
have  one  extra  bath  to  send  you  back  to  sleep.'* 

The  head  on  the  pillow  signified  unwillingness. 


78  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"I'd  take  one  to  please  my  red-headed  doctor,  but 
not  you." 

"You'd  do  anything  for  him,  eh?*'  questioned 
Burns,  his  eyes  on  the  chart  which  the  nurse  had 
brought  him  and  upon  which  she  was  throwing  the 
light  of  a  small  flash.  "  Well,  you  see  he  wants  you 
to  have  this  bath;  he  told  me  so/' 

"Very  well,  then,"  she  said  with  a  sigh.  "But 
I  don't  like  them.  They  make  me  shiver." 

"I  know  it.  But  they're  good  for  you.  They 
keep  your  red-headed  doctor  master  of  the  situa 
tion.  You  want  him  to  be  that,  don't  you?" 

"He'd  be  that  anyway,"  said  she  confidently. 

Burns  smiled,  but  the  smile  faded  quickly.  He 
gave  a  few  brief  directions,  then  slipped  away  as 
quietly  as  he  had  come. 

It  was  well  into  the  next  week  when  one  morning 
he  encountered  Jordan  King,  who  had  been  out 
of  town  for  several  days.  King  came  up  to  him 
eagerly.  Since  this  meeting  occurred  just  out 
side  the  hospital,  where  Burns's  car  had  been 
standing  in  its  accustomed  place  for  the  last  hour, 
it  might  not  have  been  a  wholly  accidental  en 
counter. 

King  made  no  attempt  to  maneuver  for  infor 
mation.  Maneuvering  with  Red  Pepper  Burns,  as 
the  young  man  was  well  aware,  seldom  served  any 


TWO  RED  HEADS  79 

purpose  but  to  subject  the  artful  one  to  a  straight 
exposure.  He  asked  his  question  abruptly. 

"I  want  to  hear  how  Miss  Linton  is  doing.  I'm 
just  back  from  Washington — haven't  heard  for 
a  week." 

Burns  frowned.  No  physician  likes  to  be  ques 
tioned  about  his  cases,  particularly  if  they  are  not 
progressing  to  suit  him.  But  he  answered,  in  a  sort 
of  growl:  "She's  not  doing." 

King  looked  startled.  "You  mean — not  doing 
well?" 

"She's  fighting  for  existence — and — slipping." 

"But — you  haven't  given  her  up?" 

Burns  exploded  with  instant  wrath.  King  might 
have  known  that  question  would  make  him  ex 
plode.  "Given  her  up!  Don't  you  know  a  red 
headed  fiend  like  me  better  than  that?" 

"I  know  you're  a  bulldog  when  you  get  your 
teeth  in,"  admitted  Jordan  King,  looking  decidedly 
unhappy  and  anxious.  "If  I'm  just  sure  you've 
got  'em  in,  that's  enough." 

Burns  grunted.     The  sound  was  significant. 

King  ventured  one  more  question,  though  Red 
Pepper's  foot  was  on  his  starter,  and  the  en 
gine  had  caught  the  spark  and  turned  over.  "If 
there's  anything  I  could  do,"  he  offered  hurriedly 
and  earnestly.  "Supply  a  special  nurse,  or  any- 
trung " 


8o  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Burns  shook  his  head.  "Two  specials  now,  and 
half  the  staff  interested.  It's  up  to  Anne  Linton 
and  nobody  else.  If  she  can  do  the  trick — she  and 

Nature — all  right.  If  not — well Thanks  for 

letting  go  the  car,  Jord.  This  happens  to  be  my 
busy  day." 

Jordan  King  looked  after  him,  his  heart  uncom 
fortably  heavy.  Then  he  stepped  into  his  own  car 
and  drove  away,  taking  his  course  down  a  side 
street  from  which  he  could  get  a  view  of  certain 
windows.  They  were  wide  open  to  the  May  breeze 
and  the  sunshine,  but  no  pots  of  daffodils  or  other 
flowers  stood  on  their  empty  sills.  He  knew  it  was 
useless  to  send  them  now. 

"But  if  she  does  pull  through,"  he  said  to  himself 
between  his  teeth,  "I'll  bring  her  such  an  armful 
of  roses  she  can't  see  over  the  top  of  'em.  God 
send  I  get  the  chance!" 


CHAPTER  V 
SUSQUEHANNA 

K~:D  PEPPER  BURNS  drove  into  the  vine- 
covered  old  red  barn  behind  his  house 
which  served  as  his  garage,  and  stopped 
his  engine  with  an  air  of  finality. 

"Johnny,"  said  he,  addressing  the  young  man 
who  was  accustomed  to  drive  with  him — and  for 
him  when  for  any  reason  he  preferred  not  to 
drive  himself,  which  was  seldom — and  who  kept 
the  car  in  the  most  careful  trim,  "not  for  man 
or  beast,  angel  or  devil  will  I  go  out  again  to 
night." 

Johnny  Carruthers  grinned.  "No,  sir,"  he  re~ 
plied.  "Not  unless  they  happen  to  want  you,"  he 
added. 

"Not  if  they  offer  me  a  thousand  dollars  for  the 
trip,"  growled  his  master. 

"You  would  for  a  dead  beat,  though,"  suggested 
the  devoted  servant,  who  by  virtue  of  five  years 
of  service  knew  whereof  he  spoke,  "if  he'd  smashed 
his  good-for-nothin'  head." 

"Not  if  he'd  smashed  his  whole  blamed  body — • 

Si 


82  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

so  long  as  there  was  another  surgeon  in  the  county 
who  could  do  the  job." 

"That's  just  the  trouble,"  argued  Johnny. 
"You'd  think  there  wasn't." 

Red  Pepper  looked  at  him.  "Johnny,  you're  an 
idiot!"  he  informed  him.  Then  he  strode  away 
toward  the  house. 

As  he  went  into  his  office  the  telephone  rang. 
The  office  was  empty,  for  it  was  dinner-time,  and 
Miss  Mathewson  was  having  a  day  off  duty  on 
account  of  her  mother's  illness.  So,  unhappily  for 
the  person  at  the  other  end  of  the  wire,  the  Doctor 
himself  answered  the  ring.  It  had  been  a  hard 
day,  following  other  hard  days,  and  he  was  feeling 
intense  fatigue,  devastating  depression,  and  that 
unreasoning  irritability  which  is  born  of  physical 
weariness  and  mental  unrest. 

"Hello,"  shouted  the  victim  of  these  disorders 
into  the  transmitter.  "What?  .  .  .  No,  I  can't. 
.  .  .  What?  .  .  .  No.  Get  somebody  else. 
.  .  .  What?  ...  I  can't,  I  say.  .  .  . 
Yes,  you  can.  Plenty  of  'em.  .  .  .  What? 
.  .  .  Absolutely  no!  Good-bye!" 

"I  ought  to  feel  better  after  that,"  muttered 
Burns,  slamming  the  receiver  on  the  hook.  "  But 
somehow  I  don't." 

In  two  minutes  he  was  splashing  in  a  hot  bath, 
as  always  at  the  end  of  a  busy  day.  From  the  tub 


SUSQUEHANNA  83 

he  was  summoned  to  the  telephone,  the  upstairs 
extension,  in  his  own  dressing  room.  With  every 
red  hair  erect  upon  his  head  after  violent  towelling, 
he  answered  the  message  which  reached  his  un 
willing  ears. 

"What's  that?  Worse?  She  isn't — it's  all  in 
her  mind.  Tell  her  she's  all  right.  I  saw  her  an 
hour  ago.  What?  .  .  .  Well,  that's  all  im 
agination,  as  I've  told  her  ten  thousand  times. 
There's  absolutely  nothing  the  matter  with  her 
heart.  .  .  .  No,  I'm  not  coming — she's  not 
to  be  babied  like  that.  .  .  .  No,  I  won't. 
Good-bye!" 

The  door  of  the  room  softly  opened.  A  knock 
had  preceded  the  entrance  of  Ellen,  but  Burns 
hadn't  heard  it.  He  eyed  her  defiantly. 

"Do  you  feel  much,  much  happier  now?"  she 
asked  with  a  merry  look. 

"If  I  don't  it's  not  the  fault  of  the  escape  valve. 
I  pulled  it  wide  open." 

"I  heard  the  noise  of  the  escaping  steam."  She 
came  close  and  stood  beside  him,  where  he  sat,  half 
dressed  and  ruddy  in  his  bathrobe.  He  put  up 
both  arms  and  held  her,  lifting  his  head  for  her 
kiss,  which  he  returned  with  interest. 

"That's  the  first  nice  thing  that's  happened 
to  me  to-day— since  the  one  I  had  when  I  left 
you  this  morning,"  he  remarked.  "I'm  all  in 


84  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

to-night,  and  ugly  as  a  bear,  as  usual.  I  feel 
better,  just  this  minute,  with  you  in  my  arms 
and  a  bath  to  the  good,  but  I'm  a  beast  just 
the  same,  and  you'd  best  take  warning.  .  .  . 
Oh,  the- 

For  the  telephone  bell  was  ringing  again.  From 
the  way  he  strode  across  the  floor  in  his  bathrobe 
and  slippers  it  was  small  wonder  that  the  walls 
trembled.  His  wife,  watching  him,  felt  a  thrill  of 
sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  who  was  to  get  the 
full  force  of  that  concussion.  With  a  scowl  on  his 
brow  he  lifted  the  receiver,  and  his  preliminary 
"Hello!"  was  his  deepest-throated  growl.  But 
then  the  scene  changed.  Red  Pepper  listened,  the 
scowl  giving  place  to  an  expression  of  a  very  differ 
ent  character.  He  asked  a  quick  question  or  two, 
with  something  like  a  most  unaccustomed  breath- 
lessness  in  his  voice,  and  then  he  said,  in  the 
businesslike  but  kind  way  which  characterized  him 
when  his  sympathies  were  roused: 

"I'll  be  there  as  quick  as  I  can  get  there.  Call 
Doctor  Buller  for  me,  and  let  Doctor  Grayson 
know  I  may  want  him." 

Rushing  at  the  completion  of  his  dressing  he 
gave  a  hurried  explanation,  in  answer  to  his  wife's 
anxious  inquiry,  "It  isn't  Anne  Linton?" 

"It's  worse,  it's  Jord  King.  He's  had  a  bad 
accident — confound  his  recklessness!  I'm  afraid 


SUSQUEHANNA  85 

he's  made  a  mess  of  it  this  time  for  fair,  though 
I  can't  be  sure  till  I  get  there." 

"Where  is  he?"  Ellen's  face  had  turned  pale. 

"At  the  hospital.  His  man  Aleck  is  hurt,  too. 
Call  Johnny,  please,  and  have  him  bring  the  car 
around  and  go  with  me." 

Ellen  flew,  and  five  minutes  later  watched  her 
husband  gulp  down  a  cup  of  the  strong  coffee 
Cynthia  always  made  him  at  such  crises  when,  in 
spite  of  fatigue,  he  must  lose  no  time  nor  ade 
quately  reenforce  his  physical  energy  with  food. 

"Oh,  I'm  so  sorry  you  couldn't  rest  to-night," 
she  said  as  he  set  down  the  cup  and,  pulling  his  hat 
over  his  eyes,  picked  up  the  heavy  surgical  bags. 

"Couldn't,  anyway,  with  the  universe  on  my 
mind,  so  I  might  as  well  keep  going,"  was  Burns's 
gruff  reply,  though  the  kiss  he  left  on  her  lips  was 
a  long  one  and  spoke  his  appreciation  of  her  tender 
comradeship. 

She  did  not  see  him  again  till  morning,  though 
she  lay  awake  many  hours.  He  came  in  at  day 
light;  she  heard  the  car  go  in  at  the  driveway,  and, 
rising  hurriedly,  was  ready  to  meet  him  when  he 
came  into  the  living  room  downstairs. 

"Up  so  early?"  questioned  Burns  as  he  saw  her. 
The  next  minute  he  had  folded  her  in  one  of  those 
strong-armed  embraces  which  speak  of  a  glad  re 
turn  to  one  whose  life  is  a  part  of  one's  own.  "I 


I 
86  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

wonder,"  he  murmured,  with  his  cheek  pressed  to 
hers,  "if  a  man  ever  came  back  to  sweeter  arms 
than  these!" 

But  she  knew,  in  spite  of  this  greeting,  that  his 
heart  was  heavy.  Her  own  heart  sank.  But  she 
waited,  asking  no  questions.  He  would  tell  her 
when  he  was  ready. 

He  drew  her  down  upon  the  couch  beside  him 
and  sat  with  his  arm  around  her.  "No,  I  don't 
want  to  lie  down  just  yet,"  he  said.  "I  just  want 
you.  I'm  keeping  you  in  suspense,  I  know;  I 
oughtn't  to  do  that.  Jord's  life  is  all  right,  and 
he'll  be  himself  again  in  time,  but — well,  I've  lost 
my  nerve  for  a  bit — I  can't  talk  about  it." 

His  voice  broke.  By  and  by  it  steadied  again; 
and,  his  weariness  partially  lifted  by  the  heartening 
little  breakfast  Ellen  brought  him  on  a  tray,  he 
told  her  the  story  of  the  night: 

"  Jord  was  coming  in  from  the  Coldtown  Water 
works,  forty  miles  out,  late  for  dinner  and  hustling 
to  make  up  time.  Aleck,  the  Kings'  chauffeur,  was 
with  him.  They  were  coming  in  at  a  good  clip, 
even  for  a  back  street,  probably  twenty-five  or 
thirty.  There  wasn't  much  on  the  street  except 
ahead,  by  the  curb,  a  wagon,  and  coming  toward 
him  a  big  motor  truck.  When  he  was  fifty  feet 
from  the  wagon  a  fellow  stepped  out  from  behind 
it  to  cross  the  street.  It  was  right  under  the  arc 


SUSQUEHANNA  87 

light,  and  Jord  recognized  Franz — 'Little  Hun 
gary/  you  know — with  his  fiddle  under  his  arm, 
crossing  to  go  in  at  the  stage  door  of  the  Victoria 
Theatre,  where  he  plays.  The  boy  didn't  see 
them  at  all. 

"Neither  Jord  nor  Aleck  can  tell  much  about  it 
yet,  of  course,  but  from  the  little  I  got  I  know  as 
well  as  if  I  had  been  there  what  happened.  He 
slammed  on  the  brakes — it  was  the  only  thing  he 
could  do,  with  the  motor  truck  taking  up  half  the 
narrow  street.  The  pavement  was  wet — a  shower 
was  just  over.  Of  course  she  skidded  completely 
around  to  the  left,  just  missing  the  truck,  and 
when  she  hit  the  curb  over  she  went.  She  jammed 
Jord  between  the  car  and  the  ground,  injuring  his 
back  pretty  badly  but  not  permanently,  as  nearly 
as  I  can  make  out.  But  she  crushed  Aleck's  right 
arm  so  that — 

He  drew  a  long  breath,  a  difficult  breath,  and 
Ellen,  listening,  cried  out  against  the  thing  she 
instantly  felt  it  meant. 

"ORed!    You  don't  mean " 

He  nodded.  "I  took  it  off,  an  hour  afterward — • 
at  the  shoulder." 

Ellen  turned  white,  and  in  a  moment  more  she 
was  crying  softly  within  the  shelter  of  her  hus 
band's  arm.  He  sat  with  set  lips,  and  eyes  staring 
at  the  empty  fireplace  before  him.  Presently  he 


88  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

spoke  again,  and  his  voice  was  very  low,  as  if  he 
could  not  trust  it: 

"Aleck  was  game.  He  was  the  gamest  chap  I 
ever  saw.  All  he  said  when  I  told  him  was,  'Go 
ahead,  Doctor.'  I  never  did  a  harder  thing  in  all 
my  life.  I  suppose  army  surgeons  get  more  or  less 
used  to  it,  but  somehow — when  I  knew  what  that 
arm  meant  to  Aleck,  and  how  an  hour  before  it 
had  been  a  perfect  thing,  and  now 

He  did  not  try  to  tell  her  more  just  then,  but 
later,  when  both  were  steadied,  he  added  a  few 
more  important  details  to  the  story: 

"Franz  went  to  the  hospital  with  them— 
wouldn't  leave  them — ran  the  risk  of  losing  his 
position.  Do  you  know,  Jord  has  been  teaching 
that  boy  English,  evenings,  and  naturally  Franz 
adores  him.  I  suppose  Jord  would  have  taken 
that  skid  for  any  blamed  beggar  who  got  in  his 
way,  but  of  course  it  didn't  take  any  force  off  the 
way  he  jammed  on  those  brakes  when  he  saw  it 
was  a  friend  he  was  going  to  hit.  And  a  friend 
he  was  going  to  maim — pretty  hard  choice  to 
make,  wasn't  it?  But  of  course  it  was  sure  death 
to  Franz  if  he  hit  him,  at  that  pace,  so  there  was 
nothing  else  to  do  but  take  the  chance  for  himself 
and  Aleck.  Maybe  you  can  guess,  though,  how  he 
feels  about  Aleck.  One  wouldn't  think  he  knew 
he'd  been  cruelly  hurt  himself." 


SUSQUEHANNA  89 

"Oh!    I  thought " 

"  Jord's  back  will  give  him  a  lot  of  trouble  for 
a  while,  but  his  spine  isn't  seriously  injured,  if 
I  know  my  trade.  Altogether — well — the  nurses 
have  got  a  couple  of  interesting  cases  on  their 
hands  for  a  while.  No  doubt  Aleck  will  be  well 
looked  after.  As  for  Jord — he'll  be  so  much  the 
more  helpless  of  the  two  for  a  while,  I'm  afraid 
he'll  prove  a  distraction  that  will  demoralize  the 
force." 

He  smiled  faintly  for  the  first  time,  but  his  face 
sobered  again  instantly. 

"Anne  Linton's  pretty  weak,  but  she  took  a 
Jittle  nourishment  sanely  this  morning  just  before 
I  came  away.  Miss  Arden  feels  a  trifle  encouraged. 
I  confess  this  thing  of  Jord's  has  knocked  the  girl 
out  of  my  mind  for  the  time  being,  though  I  shall 
get  her  back  again  fast  enough,  if  I  don't  find 
things  going  right  when  I  see  her.  Well" — he 
turned  his  wife's  face  toward  him,  with  a  hand 
against  her  cheek— "it's  all  out  now,  and  I'm 
eased  a  bit  by  the  telling.  I  wish  I  could  get  forty 
winks,  just  to  make  a  break  between  last  night  and 
this  morning." 

"You  shall.    Lie  down  and  I'll  put  you  to  sleep." 

He  did  not  think  it  possible,  in  spite  of  his 
exhaustion,  but  presently  under  her  quieting  touch 
he  was  over  the  brink,  greatly  to  Ellen's  relief. 


90  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Her  heart  contracted  with  love  and  sympathy  as 
she  watched  his  face.  It  was  a  weary  face,  now  in 
its  relaxation,  and  there  were  heavy  shadows  under 
the  closed  eyes.  Every  now  and  then  a  frown 
crossed  the  broad  brow,  as  if  the  sleeper  were  not 
wholly  at  ease,  could  not  forget,  even  in  his  dreams, 
what  he  had  had  to  do  a  few  hours  ago.  She 
thought  of  young  Aleck  with  his  manly,  smiling 
face,  his  pride  in  keeping  Jordan  King's  car  as  fine 
and  efficient  beneath  its  hood — mud-splashed 
though  it  often  was  without — as  he  did  the  shining 
limousine  he  drove  for  Mrs.  Alexander  King, 
Jordan's  mother.  She  thought  of  what  it  must  be 
to  him  now  to  know  that  he  was  maimed  for  life. 
As  for  King  himself,  she  knew  him  well  enough  to 
understand  how  his  own  injuries  would  count  for 
little  beside  his  distress  in  having  had  to  deal  the 
blow  which  had  crushed  that  strong  young  arm  of 
Aleck's.  Her  heart  ached  for  them  both — and  even 
for  poor  Franz,  weeping  at  having  been  the  inno 
cent  cause  of  all  this  havoc. 

Two  hours'  sleep  did  his  wife  secure  for  Burns- 
before  he  woke,  stoutly  avowing  himself  fit  for 
anything  again,  and  setting  off,  immediately  break 
fast  was  over,  for  the  place  to  which  his  thoughts 
had  leaped  with  his  first  return  to  consciousness. 

"Can't  rest  till  I  see  old  Jord.  Did  I  tell  you 
that  he  insisted  on  Aleck's  having  the  room  next 


SUSQUEHANNA  9x 

his,  precisely  as  big  and  airy  as  his  own  ?  There's  a 
door  between,  and  when  it's  open  they  can  see 
each  other.  When  I  left  Jord  the  door  was  open, 
and  he  was  staring  in  at  Aleck,  who  was  still  sleep 
ing  off  the  anesthetic,  and  a  big  tear  was  running 
down  Jord's  cheek.  He  can't  stir  himself,  but  that 
doesn't  seem  to  bother  him  any.  He's  going  to 
suffer  a  lot  of  pain  with  his  back,  but  he'll  suffer 
ten  times  more  looking  at  that  bandaged  shoulder 
of  Aleck's." 

It  was  four  days  later  that  Ellen  saw  King.  She 
was  prepared  to  find  him,  as  Burns  had  called  him, 
"game,"  but  she  had  not  known  just  all  that  term 
means  among  men  when  it  is  applied  to  such  a  one 
as  he.  If  he  had  been  receiving  her  after  having 
suffered  a  bad  wrench  of  the  ankle  he  could  not 
have  treated  the  occasion  more  simply. 

"This  is  mighty  good  of  you,"  he  said,  reaching 
up  a  well-developed  right  arm  from  his  bed,  where 
he  lay  flat  on  his  back  without  so  much  as  a  pillow 
beneath  his  head.  His  hair  was  carefully  brushed, 
his  bandages  were  concealed,  his  lips  were  smiling, 
and  altogether  he  was,  except  for  his  prostrate  posi 
tion,  no  picture  of  an  invalid. 

"I've  just  been  waiting  to  come,"  she  said,  re 
turning  the  firm  pressure  of  his  hand  with  that  of 
both  her  own. 


92  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"And  meanwhile  you've  kept  me  reminded  of 
you  by  these  wonderful  flowers,"  he  said  with  a 
nod  toward  the  ranks  on  ranks  of  roses  which 
crowded  table  and  window  sills. 

"Oh,  but  not  all  those!"  she  denied.  "I  might 
have  known  you  would  be  deluged  with  them. 
Daisies  and  buttercups  out  of  the  fields  would  have 
been  better." 

"No,  because  those  you  sent  look  like  you. 
Doctor  Burns  won't  grudge  me  the  pleasure  of  say 
ing  now  what  I  like  to  his  wife — and  it's  the  first 
time  I've  really  dared  tell  you  what  I  thought." 

"What  a  charming  compliment!  But  I'm  going 
to  send  you  something  much  more  substantial  now 
— good  things  to  eat,  and  books  to  read,  if  I  can 
just  find  out  what  you  like — and  even  games  to 
play,  if  you  care  for  them." 

"I'll  be  delighted,  if  they're  something  Aleck  and 
I  can  play  together.  You  see  when  that  door  is 
open  we  aren't  far  apart,  and  it  won't  be  long, 
Doctor  Burns  says,  before  he'll  be  walking  in  here 
to  keep  me  company — till  he  gets  out." 

"He  is  doing  well,  I  hear.     I'm  so  glad." 

"Yes,  that  husky  young  constitution  of  his  is 
telling  finely — plus  your  husband's  surgery.  My 
poor  boy!"  He  shut  his  lips  upon  the  words,  and 
kept  them  closely  pressed  together  for  an  instant. 
"My  word,  Mrs.  Burns — he's  the  stuff  that  heroes 


SUSQUEHANNA  93 

are  made  of!  His  living  to  earn  for  the  rest  of  his 
life — with  one  arm — and  you'd  think  he'd  lost  the 
tip  of  one  finger.  If  ever  I  let  that  boy  go  out  of  my 
employ — why,  he's  worth  more  as  a  shining  ex 
ample  of  pluck  than  other  men  are  worth  with  two 
good  arms!" 

"I  must  go  and  see  him — if  he'd  care  to  have 
me." 

"He'd  take  it  asthe  honourof  hislife.  He'scrazy 
over  the  flowers  you  sent  him." 

"Would  he  care  for  books?  And  what  sort? 
I'm  going  to  bring  both  of  you  books." 

"  Stories  of  adventure  will  suit  Aleck — the  wilder 
the  better.  Odd  choice — for  such  a  peaceable- 
looking  fellow,  isn't  it?  As  for  me — something  I'll 
have  to  work  hard  to  listen  to,  something  to  keep 
an  edge  on  my  mind.  I've  counted  the  cracks  in 
the  ceiling  till  I  have  a  map  of  them  by  heart.  I've 
worked  out  a  system  by  which  I  can  drain  that 
ceiling  country  and  raise  crops  there.  There  isn't 
much  else  in  this  room  that  I  can  count  or  lay  out — 
worse  luck!  So  I've  named  all  the  roses,  and  have 
wagers  with  myself  as  to  which  will  fade  first. 
I'm  betting  on  Susquehanna,  that  big  red  one,  to 
outlast  all  the  rest." 

When  Red  Pepper  looked  in  half  an  hour  later, 
it  was  to  find  the  door  open  between  the  two  rooms, 


94  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

and  his  wife  listening,  smiling,  to  an  incident  of  the 
night  just  past,  as  told  by  first  one  patient  and  then 
the  other.  The  two  young  men  might  have  been 
two  comrades  lying  beside  a  campfire,  so  gay  was 
their  jesting  with  each  other,  so  light  their  treat 
ment  of  the  wakeful  hours  both  had  spent. 

"No,  there's  nothing  the  matter  with  either  of 
them,"  observed  Burns,  looking  from  one  bedside 
to  the  other.  "Franz  is  the  chap  with  the  heavy 
heart;  these  two  are  just  enjoying  a  summer  holi 
day.  But  I'm  not  going  to  keep  the  communica 
tion  open  long  at  a  time,  as  yet." 

He  went  in  to  see  Aleck,  closing  the  door  again. 
When  he  returned  he  took  up  a  position  at  the  foot 
of  King's  bed,  regarding  him  in  silence.  Ellen 
looked  up  at  her  husband.  There  was  something 
in  his  face  which  had  not  been  there  of  late — a 
curiously  bright  look,  as  if  a  cloud  were  lifted.  She 
studied  him  intently,  and  when  he  returned  the 
scrutiny  she  raised  her  eyebrows  in  an  interroga 
tion.  He  nodded,  smiling  quizzically. 

"Jord,"  he  said,  "if  you  want  to  keep  your 
secrets  to  yourself,  beware  of  letting  any  woman 
come  within  range.  My  wife  has  just  read  rne  as  if 
I  were  an  open  book  in  large  black  type." 

"Bound  in  scarlet  and  gold,"  added  Ellen. 
"Tell  us,  Red.  You  really  have  good  news?" 

"The  best.     I  am  pretty  confident  Anne  Linton 


SUSQUEHANNA  95 

has  turned  the  corner.  I  hoped  it  yesterday,  but 
wasn't  sure  enough  to  say  so.  Did  you  know  that, 
too?" 

"Of  course.  But  you  were  in  small  type  yester 
day.  To-day  he  who  runs  may  read.  You  would 
know  it  yourself,  wouldn't  you,  Jordan?" 

The  man  in  the  bed  studied  the  man  who  stood 
at  its  foot.  The  two  regarded  each  other  as  under 
peculiar  circumstances  men  do  who  have  a  strong 
bond  of  affection  and  confidence  between  them. 

"He's  such  a  bluffer,"  said  King.  "I  hadn't  sup 
posed  anybody  could  tell  much  about  what  he  was 
thinking.  But  I  do  see  he  looks  pretty  jolly  this 
morning,  and  I  don't  imagine  it's  all  bluff.  I'm 
certainly  glad  to  hear  Miss  Linton  is  doing  well." 

"  Doing  well  isn't  exactly  the  phrase  even  now," 
admitted  Red  Pepper.  "There  are  lots  of  things 
that  can  happen  yet.  But  the  wind  and  waves 
have  floated  her  little  craft  off  the  rocks,  and  the 
leaks  in  the  boat  are  stopped.  If  she  doesn't 
spring  any  more,  and  the  winds  continue  favour 
able,  we'll  make  port." 

Jordan  King  looked  as  happy  as  if  he  had  been 
the  brother  of  this  patientof  Burns's,  whomneither 
of  them  had  known  a  month  ago,  and  whom  one  of 
them  had  seen  but  once. 

"That's  great,"  he  said.  "I  haven't  dared  to  ask 
since  I  came  here  myself,  knowing  how  poor  the 


96  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

prospects  were  the  last  time  I  did  ask.  I  was  afraid 
I  should  surely  hear  bad  news.  When  can  we  begin 
to  send  her  flowers  again  ?  Couldn't  I  send  some  of 
mine  ?  I'd  like  her  to  have  Susquehanna  there,  and 
Rappahannock — and  I  think  Arapahoe  and  Apache 
will  run  them  pretty  close  on  lasting.  Would  you 
mind  taking  them  to  her  when  you  go?"  His  eyes 
turned  to  Mrs.  Burns. 

"I'd  love  to,  but  I  shall  not  dare  to  tell  her  you 
are  here,  just  yet.  She  is  very  weak,  isn't  she, 
Red?" 

"As  a  starved  pussy  cat.  The  flowers  won't 
hurt  her,  but  we  don't  want  to  rouse  her  sym 
pathies  as  yet." 

"I  should  say  not.  Don't  mention  me;  just  take 
her  the  posies,"  instructed  King,  his  cheek  showing 
a  slight  access  of  colour. 

"You  won't  know  whether  Susquehanna  wins 
your  wager  or  not,"  Ellen  reminded  him  as  she 
obediently  separated  the  indicated  blooms,  mag 
nificent  great  hothouse  specimens  with  stems  like 
pillars.  That  the  finest  of  all  these  roses,  not  ex 
cepting  those  she  had  sent  herself,  had  come  from 
private  greenhouses,  she  well  knew.  The  Kings 
lived  in  the  centre  of  the  wealthiest  quarter 
of  the  city,  though  not  themselves  possessed 
of  more  than  moderate  riches.  Their  name,  how 
ever,  was  an  old  and  honoured  one,  Jordan  him- 


SUSQUEHANNA  97 

self  was  a  favourite,  and  none  in  the  city  was  too 
important  to  be  glad  to  be  admitted  at  his  home. 

"Anything  more  I  can  do  for  you  before  I  go?" 
inquired  Burns  of  his  patient  when  Ellen  had  gone, 
smiling  back  at  King  from  over  the  big  roses  and 
promising  to  keep  track  of  Susquehanna  for  him  in 
her  daily  visits. 

"Nothing,  thank  you.  You  did  it  all  an  hour 
ago,  and  left  me  more  comfortable  than  I  expected 
to  be  just  yet.  I'm  not  sure  whether  it  was  the 
dressing  or  the  visit  that  did  me  the  most  good." 

"You're  a  mighty  satisfactory  sort  of  patient. 
That  good  clean  blood  of  yours  is  telling  already  in 
/our  recovery  from  shock.  It  tells  in  another  way, 
coo." 

"What's  that?" 

"Sheer  pluck." 

King's  eyelids  fell.  It  meant  much  to  him  to 
otand  well  m  the  estimation  of  this  man,  him 
self  distinguished  for  the  cool  daring  of  his  work, 
his  endurance  of  the  hard  drudgery  of  his  profession 
as  well  as  the  brilliant  performance  on  occasion. 
"I'm  glad  you  think  so — Red  Pepper  Burns,'' 
King  answered  daringly.  Then,  as  the  other 
laughed,  he  added:  "Do  you  know  what  would 
make  me  the  most  docile  patient  you  could  ask?" 

"Docile  doesn't  seem  just  the  word  for  you — but 
I'd  be  glad  to  know,  in  case  of  emergency." 


98  RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"Let  me  call  you  that — the  name  your  best 
friends  have  for  you.  It's  a  bully  name.  I  know 
I'm  ten  years  younger — but " 

"Good  lack!  Jordan  King,  call  me  anything 
you  like!  I'll  appreciate  it." 

"  You've  no  idea  how  long  I've  wanted  to  do  it — • 
Red,"  vowed  the  younger  man,  with  the  flush 
again  creeping  into  his  cheek. 

"Why  didn't  you  long  ago?"  Burns  demanded. 
"Surely  dignity's  no  characteristic  of  mine.  If 
Anne  Linton  can  call  me  'Red  Head'  on  no 
acquaintance  at  all — 

"  She  didn't  do  that ! "  King  looked  a  little  as  if  he 
had  received  a  blow. 

"Only  when  she  was  off  her  head,  of  course. 
She  took  me  for  a  wildcat  once,  poor  child.  No,  no 
— when  she  was  sane  she  addressed  me  very  prop 
erly.  She's  back  on  the  old  decorous  ground  now. 
Made  me  a  beautiful  little  speech  this  morning, 
informing  me  that  I  had  to  stop  calling  her  'little 
girl,'  for  she  was  twenty-four  years  old.  As  she 
looks  about  fifteen  at  the  present,  and  a  starved 
little  beggar  at  that,  I  found  it  a  bit  difficult  to  be 
gin  on  'Miss  Linton,'  particularly  as  I  have  been 
addressing  her  as  'Little  Anne'  all  the  time." 

"Starved?"  King  seemed  to  have  paused  at 
this  significant  word. 

"Oh,  we'll  soon  fill  her  out  again.     She's  really 


SUSQUEHANNA  99 

not  half  so  thin  as  she  might  be  under  the  old-style 
treatment.  It  strikes  me  you  have  a  good  deal  of 
interest  in  my  patients,  Jord.  Shall  I  describe  the 
rest  of  them  for  you?" 

Burns  looked  mischievous,  but  King  did  not  seem 
at  all  disturbed. 

"Naturally  I  am  interested  in  a  girl  you  made 
me  bring  to  the  hospital  myself.  And  at  present — 
well — a  fellow  feeling,  you  know.  I  see  how  it  is 
myself  now.  I  didn't  then." 

"True  enough.  Well,  I'll  bring  you  daily  bul 
letins  from  Miss  Anne.  And  when  she's  strong 
enough  I'll  break  the  news  to  her  of  your  prox 
imity.  Doubtless  your  respective  nurses  will 
spend  their  time  carrying  flowers  back  and  forth 
from  one  of  you  to  the  other." 

"More  than  likely,"  King  admitted.  "Any 
thing  to  fill  in  the  time.  I'm  sorry  I  can't  take  her 
out  in  my  car  when  she's  ready.  I've  been  think 
ing,  Doctor — Red,"  he  went  on  hastily,  "that 
there's  got  to  be  some  way  for  Aleck  to  drive  that 
car  in  the  future.  I'm  going  to  work  out  a  scheme 
while  I  lie  here." 

"Work  out  anything.  I'll  prophesy  right  now 
that  as  soon  as  you  get  fairly  comfortable  you'll  think 
out  more  stuff  while  you're  lying  on  your  back  than 
you  ever  did  in  a  given  period  of  time  before.  It 
won't  be  lost  time  at  all;  it'll  be  time  gained.  And 


ioo         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

when  you  do  get  back  on  your  legs — no,  don't  ask 
me  when  that'll  be,  I  can't  tell  nor  any  other  fellow 
— but  when  you  do  get  back  you'll  make  things  fly 
as  they  never  did  before — and  that's  going  some." 

"You  are  a  great  bluffer,  but  I  admit  that  I  like 
the  sound  of  it,"  was  King's  parting  speech  as  he 
watched  Burns  depart. 

On  account  of  this  latest  interview  he  was  able  to 
bear  up  the  better  under  the  immediately  following 
visit  of  his  mother,  an  aristocratic-looking,  sweet- 
faced  but  sad-eyed  lady,  who  could  not  yet  be  rec 
onciled  to  that  which  had  happened  to  her  son, 
andwho  visited  him  twice  daily  to  bring  hampers  of 
fruit,  food,  and  flowers,  in  quantity  sufficient  to 
sustain  half  the  patients  in  a  near-by  ward.  She 
invariably  shed  a  few  quiet  tears  over  him  which 
she  tried  vainly  to  conceal,  addressed  him  in  a 
mournful  tone,  and  in  spite  of  his  efforts  to  cheer 
her  managed  to  leave  behind  her  after  each  visit  an 
atmosphere  of  depression  which  it  took  him  some 
time  and  strength  to  overcome. 

"Poor  mother,  she  can't  help  it,"  philosophized 
her  son.  "What  stumps  me,  though,  is  why  one 
who  takes  life  so  hard  should  outlive  a  man  like 
my  father,  who  was  all  that  is  brave  and  cheerful. 
Perhaps  it  took  it  out  of  him  to  be  always  playing 
the  game  boldly  against  her  fears.  But  even  so— 
give  me  the  bluffers,  like  Red  Pepper — and  like 


SUSQUEHANNA  101 

Mrs.  Red.  Jove!  but  she's  a  lovely  woman.  No 
wonder  he  adores  her.  So  do  I — with  his  leave. 
And  so  does  Anne  Linton,  I  should  imagine.  Poor 
little  girl — what  does  she  look  like,  I  wonder? " 

If  he  could  have  seen  her  at  that  moment,  hold 
ing  Susquehanna  against  her  hollow  young  cheek, 
the  glowing  flower  making  the  white  face  a  pitiful 
contrast,  he  would  have  been  even  more  touched 
than  he  could  have  imagined.  Also — he  would 
have  felt  that  his  wager  concerning  Susquehanna 
was  likely  to  be  lost.  It  is  not  conducive  to  the 
life  of  a  rose  to  be  loved  and  caressed  as  this  one  was 
being.  But  since  it  was  the  first  of  her  flowers  that 
Anne  Linton  had  been  able  to  take  note  of  and 
enjoy,  it  might  have  been  considered  a  life — and  a 
wager — well  lost. 


CHAPTER  VI 
HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS 

ANTE  LINTON  lifted  her  head  ever  so 
little  from  the  allowed  incline  of  her  pillow 
in  the  Good  Samaritan  Hospital.  She 
peered  anxiously  at  the  tray  being  borne  toward 
her  by  Selina  Arden,  most  scrupulously  con 
scientious  of  all  trained  nurses,  and  never  more 
rigidly  exact  than  when  the  early  diet  of  patients 
in  convalescence  was  concerned. 

"Is  that  all?"  murmured  Anne  in  a  tone  of 
anguish. 

"All!"  replied  Miss  Arden  firmly.  But  she 
smiled,  showing  her  perfect  white  teeth — and 
showing  also  her  sympathy  by  the  tone  in  which  she 
added:  "Poor  child!" 

"Shall  I  never,  never,  never,"  asked  the  patient, 
hungrily  surveying  the  tray  at  close  range,  "have 
enough  just  to  dull  these  pangs  a  little?  Not  enough 
to  satisfy  me,  of  course,  but  just  enough  to  take  the 
edge  off?" 

"Very  soon  now,"  replied  Miss  Arden  cheerily, 
"you  shall  have  a  pretty  good-sized  portion  of 

102 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  103 

beefsteak,  juicy  and  tender,  and  you  shall  eat  it  all 


,ir. " 

up 

"And  leave  not  a  wrack  behind,"  moaned  Anne 
Linton,  closing  her  eyes.  "But  you  are  wrong, 
Miss  Arden — I  shall  not  eat  it,  I  shall  gulp  it — the 
way  a  dog  does.  I  always  wondered  why  a  dog 
has  no  manners  about  eating.  I  know  now.  He 
is  so  hungry  his  eyes  eat  it  first,  so  his  mouth  has 
no  chance.  Well,  I'm  certainly  thankful  for  the 
food  on  this  tray.  It's  awfully  good — what  there 
is  of  it." 

She  consumed  it,  making  the  process  as  lingering 
as  was  consistent  with  the  ravaging  appetite  which 
was  a  real  torture.  When  the  last  mouthful  had 
vanished  she  set  her  eyes  upon  the  clock — the  little 
travelling  clock  which  was  Miss  Arden's  and  which 
had  ticked  busily  and  cheerfully  through  all  those 
days  of  illness  when  Anne's  eyes  had  never  once 
lifted  to  notice  the  passage  of  time. 

"I  was  so  long  about  it,"  said  the  girl  gleefully, 
"that  now  it's  only  two  hours  and  forty  minutes  to 
the  next  refreshment  station.  I  expect  I  can  keep 
on  living  till  then  if  I  use  all  my  will  power." 

"And  here's  something  to  make  you  forget  how 
long  two  hours  and  forty  minutes  are." 

Miss  Arden  went  to  the  door  and,  returning,  laid 
suddenly  in  Anne's  arms  a  great,  fragrant  mass  of 
white  bloom,  at  the  smell  and  touch  of  which  she 


104         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

gave  a  half-smothered  cry  of  rapture,  and  buried 
her  face  in  the  midst  of  it.  "White  lilacs — oh, 
white  lilacs!  The  dears — the  loves!  Oh,  where 
did  they  come  from?" 

"There's  a  note  that  came  with  them,"  admitted 
Miss  Arden  presently,  when  she  had  let  the  ques 
tion  go  unanswered  for  some  time,  while  Anne, 
seeming  to  forget  that  she  had  asked  it,  smelled  and 
smelled  of  the  cool  white  and  green  branches  as  if 
she  could  never  have  enough  of  them.  Into  her 
eyes  had  leaped  a  strange  look,  as  if  some  memory 
were  connected  with  these  outdoor  flowers  which 
made  them  different  for  her  from  the  hothouse 
blooms,  or  even  from  the  daffodils  and  tulips  that 
had  alternated  with  the  roses  which  had  come  often 
since  her  convalescence  began. 

Anne  reached  up  an  eager  hand  for  the  note,  a 
look  of  surprise  on  her  face.  Miss  Arden,  looking 
back  at  her,  noted  how  each  day  was  helping  to  re 
move  the  pallor  and  wanness  from  that  face.  At 
the  moment,  under  the  caress  of  the  lilacs  and  the 
surprise  of  the  impending  note,  it  was  showing  once 
more  a  decided  touch  of  its  former  beauty.  Also 
she  was  wearing  a  little  invalid's  wrap  of  lace 
and  pink  silk,  given  her  by  Mrs.  Burns,  and  this 
helped  the  effect. 

Anne  unfolded  the  note.  Miss  Arden  went 
away  with  the  empty  tray,  and  remained  away 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  105 

tome  time.     Miss  Arden,  as  has  been  said  before, 
was  a  most  remarkable  nurse. 
The  note  read  thus: 

The  Next  Corridor,  10:30  A.  M. 

DEAR  Miss  LINTON: 

The  time  has  come,  it  seems  to  me,  for  two  patients  who 
have  nothing  to  do  but  while  away  the  hours  for  a  bit  longer, 
to  help  each  other  out.  What  do  you  say?  I  suppose  you 
don't  know  that  I've  been  lying  flat  on  my  back  now  for  a 
fortnight,  getting  over  a  rather  bad  spill  from  my  car.  I'm 
pretty  comfortable  now,  thank  you,  so  don't  waste  a  particle 
of  sympathy;  but  the  hours  must  certainly  drag  for  you  as 
they  do  for  me,  and  my  idea  is  that  we  ought  to  establish 
some  sort  of  system  of  intercommunication.  I  have  an 
awfully  obliging  nurse,  and  a  young  man  with  a  fiddle  here 
besides,  and  I'd  like  to  send  you  a  short  musicale  when  you 
feel  up  to  it.  Are  you  fond  of  music?  I  have  a  notion  you 
are.  Franz  will  come  and  play  for  you  whenever  you  say. 
But  besides  that  I'd  awfully  like  to  have  a  note  from  you  as 
soon  as  you  are  able  to  write.  I'll  answer  it,  you  know — and 
then  you'll  answer  that,  perhaps — and  so  the  hours  will  go  by. 
I  know  this  is  a  rather  free-and-easy-sounding  proposition 
from  a  perfect  stranger,  as  I  suppose  you  think  me,  but  cir 
cumstances  do  alter  cases,  you  know,  and  if  our  circumstances 
can't  alter  our  cases,  then  it's  no  good  being  laid  up! 

Hearty  congratulations  on  that  raging  appetite.  You  see 
Doctor  Burns  is  good  enough  to  keep  me  informed  as  to  how 
you  come  on.  You  certainly  seem  to  be  coming  on  now. 
Please  keep  it  up.  I  shouldn't  dare  ask  you  to  write  to  me 
if  the  Doctor  hadn't  said  you  could — if  you  wouldn't  do  it 
enough  to  tire  you.  So — I'm  hoping. 

Yours,  under  the  same  roof, 
JORDAN  KING. 


106         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"Good  morning!"  said  a  beloved  voice  from  the 
doorway.  Anne  looked  up  eagerly  from  her  letter. 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Burns — good  morning!  And  won't 
you  please  stand  quite  still  for  a  minute  while  I 
look  at  you  ? " 

Ellen  laughed.  To  other  people  than  Anne  Lin- 
ton  she  was  always  the  embodiment  of  quiet  charm 
in  her  freshness  of  attire  and  air  of  general  dainti 
ness.  In  the  pale  gray  and  white  of  her  summer 
clothing,  with  a  spray  of  purple  lilac  tucked  into 
her  belt,  she  was  a  vision  to  rest  the  eye  upon. 
"You  are  looking  ever  so  well  yourself  to-day," 
Ellen  said  as  she  sat  down  close  beside  Anne,  facing 
her.  "Another  week  and  you  will  be  showing 
us  what  you  really  look  like." 

"The  little  pink  cover-up  does  me  as  much  good 
as  anything,"  declared  Anne.  "I  never  thought  I 
could  wear  pink  with  my  carroty  hair.  But  Miss 
Arden  says  I  can  wear  anything  you  say  I  can,  and 
I  believe  her." 

"Your  hair  is  bronze,  not  carroty,  and  that 
apricot  shade  of  pink  tones  in  with  it  beautifully. 
What  a  glorious  mass  of  white  lilacs!  I  never  saw 
any  so  fine  " 

"They're  wonderful  I  insisted  on  keeping  them 
Tight  here,  I'm  so  fond  of  the  fragrance.  They  came 
from  Mr.  King,"  said  Anne  frankly.  "And  a  note 
from  him  savs  Ke'&  here  in  the  hospital  with  an  in- 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  107 

jured  back.  I'm  so  sorry.  Please  tell  me  how  badly 
he  is  hurt." 

"He  will  have  to  be  patient  for  some  weeks 
longer,  I  believe,  but  there  is  no  permanent  injury. 
Meanwhile,  he  is  like  any  man  confined,  restless  for 
want  of  occupation.  Still,  he  keeps  his  time  pretty 
full."  And  Ellen  proceeded  to  recount  the  story  of 
Franz,  and  of  how  Jordan  King  was  continuing  here 
in  the  hospital  to  teach  him  to  speak  English,  find 
ing  him  the  quickest  and  most  grateful  of  pupils. 

"  How  splendid  of  him !  He's  going  to  send  Franz 
to  play  for  me.  I  can't  think  of  anything — except 
beefsteak — I  should  like  so  much!"  and  Anne 
laughed,  her  face  all  alight  with  interest.  But  the 
next  instant  it  sobered.  "Mrs.  Burns,"  she  said, 
"there's  something  I  want  to  say  very  much,  and 
so  far  the  Doctor  hasn't  let  me.  But  I'm  quite 
strong  enough  now  to  begin  to  make  plans,  and  one 
of  them  is  this :  The  minute  I'm  able  to  leave  the 
hospital  I  want  to  go  to  some  inexpensive  place 
where  I  can  stay  without  bothering  anybody.  You 
have  all  been  so  wonderful  to  me  I  can  never  ex 
press  my  gratitude,  but  I'm  beginning  to  feel — oh, 
can't  you  guess  how  anxious  I  am  to  be  taking  care 
of  myself  again?  And  I  want  you  to  know  that  I 
have  quite  money  enough  to  do  it  until  I  can  go  on 
with  my  work." 

Mrs.  Burns  looked  at  her.     In  the  excitement  of 


io8          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

talking  the  girl's  face  looked  rounder  and  of  a 
better  colour  than  it  had  yet  shown,  and  her  eyes 
were  glowing,  eyes  of  such  beauty  as  are  not  often 
seen.  But  for  all  that,  she  seemed  like  some  lovely 
child  who  could  no  more  take  care  of  itself  than 
could  a  newborn  kitten.  Ellen  laid  one  hand  on 
hers. 

"You  are  not  to  think  about  such  things  yet, 
dear,"  she  said.  "Do  you  imagine  we  have  not 
grown  very  fond  of  you,  and  would  let  you  go  off 
into  some  place  alone  before  you  are  fully  yourself 
again  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it.  As  soon  as  you  can  leave 
here  you  are  coming  to  me  as  my  guest.  And  when 
you  are  playing  tennis  with  Bob,  on  our  lawn,  you 
may  begin  to  talk  about  plans  for  the  future." 

Anne  stared  back  at  her,  a  strange  expression  on 
her  face.  "Oh,  no!"  she  breathed. 

"Oh,  yes!  You  can't  think  how  I  am  looking 
forward  to  it.  Meanwhile — you  are  not  to  tire 
yourself  with  talking.  I  only  stopped  for  a  minute, 
and  the  Doctor  is  waiting  by  now.  Good-bye,  my 
dear."  And  before  Anne  could  protest  she  was 
gone,  having  learned,  by  experience,  that  the  way 
to  terminate  useless  argument  with  the  one  who  is 
not  strong  enough  to  be  allowed  to  argue  is  by 
making  early  escape. 

That  afternoon,  having  recovered  from  the  two 
surprises  of  the  morning,  Anne  asked  for  pencil  and 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  109 

paper.  Miss  Arden,  supplying  them,  stipulated 
that  their  use  should  cover  but  five  minutes. 

"It  is  one  of  the  last  things  we  let  patients  do," 
she  said,  "though  it  is  the  thing  they  all  want  to  do 
first.  There  is  nothing  so  tiring  as  letter  writing." 

"I'm  not  going  to  write  a  letter,"  Anne  replied, 
"just  a  hail  to  a  fellow  sufferer.  Only  I'm  no 
sufferer,  and  I'm  afraid  he  is." 

She  wrote  her  note,  and  it  was  presently  handed 
to  Jordan  King.  He  had  wondered  very  much 
what  sort  of  answer  he  should  have,  feeling  that 
nothing  could  reveal  the  sort  of  person  this  girl  was 
so  surely  as  a  letter,  no  matter  how  short.  He  had 
been  sure  he  recognized  education  in  her  speech, 
breeding  in  her  manner,  high  intelligence  as  well  as 
beauty  in  her  face,  but — well,  the  letter  would  re 
veal.  And  so  it  did,  though  it  was  written  in  a 
rather  shaky  hand,  in  pencil,  on  one  of  MissArden's 
hospital  record  blanks — of  all  things! 

DEAR  MR.  KING: 

It  is  the  most  wonderful  thing  in  the  world  to  be  sitting  up 
far  enough  to  be  able  to  write  and  tell  you  how  sorry  I  am 
that  you  are  lying  down.  But  Mrs.  Burns  assures  me  that 
you  are  fast  improving  and  that  soon  you  will  be  about  again. 
Meanwhile  you  are  turning  your  time  of  waiting  to  a  glorious 
account  in  teaching  poor  Franz  to  speak  English.  Surely  he 
must  have  been  longing  to  speak  it,  so  that  he  might  tell  you 
the  things  in  his  heart — about  that  dreadful  night.  But  I 
know  you  don't  want  me  to  write  of  that,  and  I  won't. 


no         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Of  course  I  should  care  to  have  him  play  for  me,  and  I  hope 
he  may  do  it  soon — to-morrow,  perhaps.  I  wonder  if  he  knows 
the  Schubert "  Fruhlingstraum" — how  I  should  love  to  hear  it! 
As  for  your  interesting  plan  for  relieving  the  passing  hours,  I 
should  hardly  be  human  if  I  did  not  respond  to  it!  Only  please 
never  write  when  you  don't  feel  quite  like  it — and  neither  will 
I. 

The  white  lilacs  were  even  more  beautiful  than  the  roses  and 
the  daffodils.  There  was  a  long  row  of  white  lilac  trees  at  one 
side  of  a  garden  I  used  to  play  in — I  shall  never,  never  forget 
what  that  fragrance  was  like  after  a  rain !  And  now  that  my  sun 
is  shining  again — after  the  rain — you  may  imagine  what  those 
white  lilacs  breathe  of  to  me. 

With  the  best  of  good  wishes, 
ANNE  LINTON. 


Jordan  King  read  this  note  through  three  times 
before  he  folded  it  back  into  its  original  creases. 
Then  he  shut  it  away  in  a  leather-bound  writing 
tablet  which  lay  by  his  side.  "  Franz/'  he  said,  ad 
dressing  the  youth  who  was  at  this  hour  of  the  day 
his  sole  attendant,  "can  you  play  Schubert's 
'Fruhlingstraum? ' ' 

He  had  to  repeat  this  title  several  times,  with 
varying  accents,  before  he  succeeded  in  making 
it  intelligible.  But  suddenly  Franz  leaped  to  an 
understanding. 

"Yess — yess — yess — yess — sair,"  he  responded 
joyously,  and  made  a  dive  for  his  violin  case. 

"Softly,  Franz,"  warned  his  master.  As  this 
was  a  word  which  had  thus  far  been  often  used  in 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  in 

his  education,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  hos 
pital  did  not  belong  exclusively  to  King — strange 
as  that  might  seem  to  Franz  who  worshipped  him 
—it  was  immediately  comprehended.  Without 
raising  the  tones  of  his  instrument,  Franz  was 
able  presently  to  make  clear  to  King  that  the 
music  he  was  asked  to  play  was  of  the  best  at 
his  command. 

"No  wonder  she  likes  that,"  was  King's  inward 
comment.  "It's  a  strange,  weird  thing,  yet  beau 
tiful  in  a  haunting  sort  of  way,  I  imagine,  to  a  girl 
like  her,  and  I  don't  know  but  it  would  be  to  me  if 
I  heard  it  many  times — while  I  was  smelling  lilacs 
in  the  rain,"  he  added,  smiling  to  himself. 

That  hint  of  a  garden  had  rather  taken  hold  of 
his  imagination.  More  than  likely,  he  said  to  him 
self,  it  had  been  her  own  garden — only  she  would 
not  tell  him  so  lest  she  seem  to  try  to  convey  an 
idea  of  former  prosperity.  A  different  sort  of  girl 
would  have  said  "our  garden." 

Next  morning,  at  the  time  of  Mrs.  Burns's  visit 
to  the  hospital,  King  sent  Franz  to  play  for  Miss 
Linton.  With  her  breakfast  tray  had  come  his 
second  note  telling  her  of  this  intention,  so  she  had 
two  hours  of  anticipation — a  great  thing  in  the  life 
of  a  convalescent.  With  every  bronze  lock  in  shin 
ing  order,  with  the  little  wrap  of  apricot  pink  silk 


ii2         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIEN1S 

and  lace  about  her  shoulders,  with  an  extra  pillow 
at  her  back,  Miss  Anne  Linton  awaited  the  coming 
of  the  "Court  Musician,"  as  King  had  called  him. 

"It's  a  very  good  thing  Jord  can't  see  her  at  this 
minute,"  observed  Burns  to  his  wife  as  he  met  her 
in  the  hall  outside  the  door.  "The  prettiest  con 
valescent  has  less  appeal  for  a  doctor  than  a  young 
woman  of  less  good  looks  in  strapping  health — 
naturally,  for  he  gets  quite  enough  of  illness  and 
the  signs  thereof.  But  to  a  lusty  chap  like  King 
Miss  Anne's  present  frail  appearance  would  un 
doubtedly  enlist  his  chivalry.  Those  are  some  eyes 
of  hers,  eh?" 

"I  think  I  have  never  seen  more  beautiful  eyes," 
Ellen  agreed  heartily. 

Her  husband  laughed.  "I  have,"  he  said,  and 
went  his  way,  having  no  time  for  morning  musi- 
cales. 

That  afternoon  Anne  Linton,  having  had  all  her 
pillows  removed  and  having  obediently  lain  still 
and  silent  for  two  long  hours,  was  permitted  to  sit 
up  again  and  write  a  note  to  King  to  tell  him  of 
the  joy  of  the  morning: 


DEAR  MR.  KING: 

It  was  as  if  the  twilight  were  falling,  with  the  stars  coming 
out  one  by  one.  By  and  by  they  were  all  shining,  and  I  was  on 
a  mountain  top  somewhere,  with  the  wind  blowing  softly 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  113 

•against  my  face.  It  was  dark  and  I  was  all  alone,  but  I  didn't 
Tiind,  for  I  was  strong,  strong  again,  and  I  knew  I  could  run 
down  by  and  by  and  be  with  people.  Then  a  storm  came  on, 
and  I  lifted  my  face  to  it  and  loved  it,  and  when  it  died  away 
the  stars  were  shining  again  between  the  clouds.  Somewhere 
a  little  bird  was  singing — I  opened  my  eye/  just  there,  and 
your  Franz  was  looking  at  me  and  smiling,  and  I  smiled  back. 
He  seemed  so  happy  to  be  making  me  happy — for  he  was,  of 
course.  After  a  while  it  was  dawn — the  loveliest  dawn,  all 
flushed  with  pink  and  silver,  and  I  couldn't  keep  my  eyes  shut 
any  more  for  looking  at  the  musician's  face.  He  is  a  real 
musician,  you  know,  and  the  music  he  makes  comes  out  of  his 
soul. 

When  it  was  all  over  and  he  and  Mrs.  Burns  were  gone,  my 
tray  came  in.  This  is  a  frightful  confession,  but  I  am  not  a 
real  musician;  I  merely  love  good  music  with  some  sort  of 
understanding  of  what  it  means  to  those  who  really  care,  as 
Franz  does.  To  me,  after  all  the  emotion,  my  tray  looked  like 
a  sort  of  solid  rock  that  I  could  cling  to.  And  I  had  a  piece  of 
wonderful  beefsteak — ah,  now  you  are  laughing!  Never 
mind — I'll  show  you  the  two  scenes. 

Upon  the  second  sheet  was  something  which 
made  Jordan  King  open  his  eyes.  There  were  two 
little  drawings — the  simplest  of  pencil  sketches, 
yet  executed  with  a  spirit  and  skill  which  aston 
ished  him.  The  first  was  of  Franz  himself,  done  in 
a  dozen  lines.  There  was  no  attempt  at  a  portrait, 
yet  somehow  Franz  was  there,  in  the  very  set  of  the 
head,  the  angle  of  the  lifted  brow,  the  pose  of 
the  body,  most  of  all  in  the  indication  of  the  smiling 
mouth,  the  drooping  eyelids.  The  second  picture 
Was  a  funny  sketch  of  a  big-eyed  girl  devouring 


ii4         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

food  from  a  tray.  Two  lines  made  the  pillows  be 
hind  her,  six  outlined  the  tray,  a  dozen  more 
demonstrated  plainly  the  famishing  appetite  with 
which  the  girl  was  eating.  It  was  all  there — it  was 
astonishing  how  it  was  all  there. 

"  My  word ! "  he  said  as  he  laid  down  the  sheets — • 
and  took  them  up  again,  "that's  artist  work, 
whether  she  knows  it  or  not.  She  must  know  it, 
though,  for  she  must  have  had  training.  I  wonder 
where  and  how." 

He  called  Miss  Arden  and  showed  her  the 
sketches. 

"Dear  me,  but  they're  clever,"  she  said.  "They 
look  like  a  child's  work — and  yet  they  aren't." 

"I  should  say  not,"  he  declared  very  positively. 
"That  sort  of  thing  is  no  child's  work.  That's 
what  painters  do  when  they're  recording  an  im 
pression,  and  I've  often  looked  in  more  wonder  at 
such  sketchy  outlines  than  at  the  finished  product. 
To  know  how  to  get  that  impression  on  paper  so 
that  it's  unmistakable — I  tell  you  that's  training 
and  nothing  else.  I  don't  know  enough  about  it  to 
say  it's  genius,  too,  yet  I've  had  an  artist  friend 
tell  me  it  cost  him  more  to  learn  to  take  the  right 
sort  of  notes  than  to  enlarge  upon  those  notes 
afterward." 

When  he  wrote  to  Anne  next  morning — he  was 
not  venturing  to  ask  more  of  her  than  one  exchange 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  115 

a  day — he  told  her  what  he  thought  about  those 
sketches : 


I've  had  that  sheet  pinned  up  at  the  foot  of  my  bed  ever 
since  it  came,  and  I'm  not  yet  tired  of  looking  at  it.  You 
should  have  seen  Franz's  face  when  I  showed  it  to  him.  "Ze 
arteeste!"  he  exclaimed,  and  laughed,  and  made  eloquent 
gestures,  by  means  of  which  I  judged  he  was  trying  to  express 
you.  He  looked  as  if  he  were  trying  to  impress  me  with  his 
own  hair,  his  eyes,  his  cheeks,  his  hands;  but  I  knew  well 
enough  he  meant  you.  I  gathered  that  he  had  been  not  ill 
pleased  with  his  visit  to  you,  for  he  proposes  another;  in  fact, 
I  think  he  would  enjoy  playing  for  you  every  day  if  you 
should  care  to  hear  him  so  often.  He  does  not  much  like  to 
perform  in  the  wards,  though  he  does  it  whenever  I  suggest  it. 
He  has  discovered  thatthough  they  listen  respectfully  while  he 
plays  his  own  beloved  music,  mostly  they  are  happier  when  he 
gives  them  a  bit  of  American  ragtime,  or  a  popular  song  hit. 
His  distaste  for  that  sort  of  thing  is  very  funny.  One  would 
think  he  had  desecrated  his  beloved  violin  when  he  con 
descends  to  it,  for  afterward  he  invariably  gives  it  a  special 
polishing  with  the  old  silk  handkerchief  he  keeps  in  the  case — 
and  Miss  Arden  vows  he  washes  his  hands,  too.  Poor  Franz! 
Your  real  artist  has  a  hard  time  of  it  in  this  prosaic  world, 
doesn't  he? 

The  note  ended  by  saying  boldly  that  King 
would  like  another  sketch  sometime,  and  he 
even  ventured  to  suggest  that  he  would  enjoy 
seeing  a  picture  of  that  row  of  white  lilac  trees 
at  the  edge  of  the  garden  where  Anne  used  to 
play.  It  was  two  days  before  he  got  this,  and 
meanwhile  a  box  of  water  colours  had  come  into 


n6         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

requisition.  When  the  sheet  of  heavy  paper 
came  to  King  he  lay  looking  at  it  with  eyes 
which  sparkled. 

At  first  sight  it  was  just  a  blur  of  blues  and 
greens,  with  irregular  patches  of  white,  and  gay 
tiny  dashes  of  strong  colour,  pinks  and  purples  and 
yellows.  But  when,  as  Anne  had  bidden  him,  he 
held  it  at  arm's  length  he  saw  it  all — the  garden 
with  its  box-bordered  beds  full  of  tall  yellow 
tulips  and  pink  and  white  and  purple  hyacinths — 
it  was  easy  to  see  that  this  was  what  they  were, 
even  from  the  dots  and  dashes  of  colour;  thehedge — • 
it  was  a  real  hedge  of  white  lilac  trees,  against  a 
spring  sky  all  scudding  clouds  of  gray.  Like  the 
sketch  of  Franz,  its  charm  lay  entirely  in  sugges 
tion,  not  in  detail,  but  was  none  the  less  real  for 
that. 

There  was  one  thing  which,  to  King's  observant 
eyes,  stood  out  plainly  from  the  little  wash  drawing. 
This  garden  was  a  garden  of  the  rich,  not  of  the 
poor.  Just  how  he  knew  it  so  well  he  could  hardly 
have  told,  after  all,  for  there  was  no  hint  of  house, 
or  wall,  or  even  summer-house,  sundial,  terrace, 
or  other  significant  sign.  Yet  it  was  there,  and  he 
doubted  if  Anne  Linton  knew  it  was  there,  or 
meant  to  have  it  so.  Perhaps  it  was  that  lilac 
hedge  which  seemed  to  show  so  plainly  the  hand 
of  a  gardener  in  the  planting  and  tending.  The 


HEAVY  LOCAL  MAILS  117 

question  was — was  it  her  own  garden  in  which 
she  had  played,  or  the  garden  of  her  father's 
employer?  Had  her  father  been  that  gardener, 
perchance?  King  instantly  ,  rejected  this  pos 
sibility. 


CHAPTER  VII 
WHITE  LILACS 

BURNS,  coming  in  to  see  King  one  day  when 
the  exchange  of  letters  had  been  going  on 
for  nearly  a  fortnight,  announced  that  he 
might  soon  be  moved  to  his  own  home. 

King  stared  at  him.  "I'm  not  absolutely 
certain  that  I  want  to  go  till  I  can  get  about  on 
my  own  feet,"  he  said  slowly. 

Burns  nodded.  "I  know,  but  that  will  be  some 
time  yet,  and  your  mother — well,  I've  put  her  off 
as  long  as  I  could,  but  without  lying  to  her  I  can't 
say  it  would  hurt  you  now  to  be  taken  home.  And 
lying's  not  my  long  suit." 

"Of  course  not.  And  I  suppose  I  ought  to  go;  it 
would  be  a  comfort  to  my  mother.  But " 

He  set  his  lips  and  gave  no  further  hint  of  his  un 
willingness  to  go  where  he  would  be  at  the  mercy 
of  the  maternal  fondness  which  would  overwhelm 
him  with  the  attentions  he  did  not  want.  Besides 
— there  was  another  reason  why,  since  he  must  for 
the  present  be  confined  somewhere,  he  was  loath 
to  leave  the  friendly  walls  where  there  was  now  so 

118 


WHITE  LILACS  119 

much  of  interest  happening  every  day.  Could  he 
keep  it  happening  at  home?  Not  without  much 
difficulty,  as  he  well  foresaw. 

"Miss  Linton's  coming  to  us  on  Saturday,"  ob 
served  Burns  carelessly,  strolling  to  the  window 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets. 

"Is  she?  I  didn't  suppose  she'd  be  strong 
enough  just  yet."  King  tried  to  speak  with  equal 
carelessness,  but  the  truth  was  that,  with  his  life 
bound,  as  it  was  at  present,  within  the  confines  of 
this  room,  the  incidents  of  each  day  loomed  large. 

"She's  gaining  remarkably  fast.  For  all  her  ap 
parent  delicacy  of  constitution  when  she  came  to 
MS,  I'm  beginning  to  suspect  that  she's  the  fortu 
nate  possessor  of  a  good  deal  of  vigour  at  the  nor 
mal.  She  says  herself  she  was  never  ill  before,  and 
that's  why  she  didn't  give  up  sooner — couldn't 
believe  there  was  anything  the  matter.  We  can't 
make  her  agree  to  stay  with  us  a  day  longer  than 
I  say  is  a  necessity  for  safety." 

"Where  does  she  want  to  go ?  Not  back  to  that 
infernal  book-agenting?"  There  was  a  frown  be 
tween  King's  well-marked  brows. 

"Yes,  I  imagine  that's  what  she  intends.  She's 
a  very  decided  young  person,  and  there's  not  much 
use  telling  her  what  she  must  and  must  not  do.  As 
for  the  book  itself,  it's  pretty  clever,  my  wife  and 
Miss  Mathewson  insist.  They  say  the  youngsters 


120          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

of  the  neighbourhood  are  crazy  over  it.  Bob  knows 
it  by  heart,  and  even  the  Little-Un  studies  the 
pictures  half  an  hour  at  a  time.  If  children  were 
her  buyers  she'd  have  no  trouble." 

"Have  a  look  at  those,  will  you?" 

King  reached  for  a  leather  writing  case  on  the 
table  at  his  elbow,  took  out  a  pile  of  sheets,  and 
began  to  hand  them  over  one  by  one  to  Burns. 

"What's  this?  Hullo!  Do  you  mean  to  say  she 
did  this?  Well,  I  like  her  impudence!" 

"So  do  I,"  laughed  King,  looking  past  Burns's 
shoulder  at  a  saucy  sketch  of  the  big  Doctor  himself 
evidently  laying  down  the  law  about  something, 
by  every  vigorous  line  of  protest  in  his  attitude 
and  the  thrust  of  his  chin.  Underneath  was 
written:  "Absolutely  not!  Haven't  I  said  so  a 
thousand  times?" 

"Wad    some   power '"   murmured    Burns. 

"Well,  she  seems  to  have  the  'power/  I  am  rather 
a  thunderer,  I  suppose.  What's  this  next?  My 
wife!  Jolly!  that's  splendid.  Hasn't  she  caught  a 
graceful  pose  though  ?  Ellen's  to  the  life.  Selina 
Arden  ?  That's  good — that's  very  good.  There's 
your  conscientious  nurse  for  you.  And  this,  of  her 
self?  Ha!  She  hasn't  flattered  herself  any.  She 
may  have  looked  like  that  at  one  time,  but  not 
now — hardly." 

"She's  looking  pretty  well  again,  is  she?" 


WHITE  LILACS  121 

"Both  pretty  and  well.  We  don't  starve  our 
patients  on  an  exclusively  liquid  diet  the  way  we 
used  to,  and  they  don't  come  out  of  typhoid  look 
ing  half  so  badly  in  consequence.  And  she's  been 
rounding  out  every  day  for  the  last  two  weeks  in 
fine  shape.  She's  a  great  little  girl,  and  as  full  of 
spirit  as  a  gray  squirrel.  I'm  beginning  to  believe 
she's  a  bit  older  than  I  would  believe  at  first;  that 
mind  of  hers  is  no  schoolgirl's;  it's  pretty  mature. 
She  says  frankly  she's  twenty-four,  though  she 
doesn't  look  over  nineteen." 

"Is  there  any  reason  why  I  can't  see  her  for  a  bit 
of  a  visit  if  she  goes  Saturday?"  asked  King 
straightforwardly.  It  was  always  a  characteristic 
of  his  to  go  straight  to  a  point  in  any  matter;  in 
trigue  and  diplomacy  were  not  for  him  in  affairs 
which  concerned  a  girl  any  more  than  in  those 
which  pertained  to  his  profession.  "You  see  we've 
been  entertaining  each  other  with  letters  and 
things,  and  it  would  seem  a  pity  not  to  meet — 
especially  if  she'll  be  leaving  town  before  I'm 
about." 

There  was  a  curiously  wistful  look  in  his  face  as 
he  said  this,  which  Burns  understood.  All  along 
King  had  said  almost  nothing  about  the  torture 
his  present  helplessness  was  to  him,  but  his  friend 
knew. 

"Of  course  she'll  come;  we'll  see  to  that.     She's 


'122          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

walking  about  a  little  now,  and  by  Saturday  she 
can  come  down  this  corridor  on  her  two  small 
feet." 

"See  here — couldn't  I  sit  up  a  bit  to  meet  her?" 

"Not  a  sixteenth  of  a  degree.  You'll  lie  exactly 
as  flat  as  you  are  now.  If  it's  any  consolation  I'll 
tell  you  that  you  look  like  a  prostrate  man-angel 
seven  feet  long." 

"Thanks.  I'd  fire  a  pillow  at  you  if  I  had  one. 
I  don't  want  to  look  like  an  object  for  sympathy 
that's  all." 

Burns  nodded  understandingly.  "Well,  Jord," 
he  said  a  moment  later,  "will  you  go  home  on  Sat 
urday,  too?" 

The  two  looked  at  each  other.  Then,  "If  you  say 
so,"  King  agreed. 

"All  right.  Then  we'll  get  rid  of  two  of  our  most 
interesting  patients  on  that  happy  day.  Never 
mind — the  mails  will  still  carry — and  Franz  is  a 
faithful  messenger.  What's  that,  Miss  Dwight? 
All  right,  I'll  be  there."  And  he  went  out,  with  a 
gay  nod  and  wave  of  the  hand  to  the  man  on  the 
bed. 

This  was  on  Monday.  On  Tuesday  King  offered 
his  petition  that  Anne  Linton  would  pay  him  a 
visit  before  she  left  on  Saturday.  When  the  an 
swer  came  it  warmed  his  heart  more  than  anything 
he  had  yet  had  from  her: 


WHITE  LILACS  123 

Of  course  I  will  come — only  I  want  you  to  know  that  I 
shall  be  dreadfully  sorry  to  come  walking,  when  you  must  still 
lie  so  long  on  that  poor  back.  Doctor  Burns  has  told  me 
how  brave  you  are,  with  all  the  pain  you  are  still  suffering. 
But  I  am  wonderfully  glad  to  learn  that  he  is  so  confident  of 
your  complete  recovery.  Just  to  know  that  you  can  be  your 
active  self  again  is  wonderful  when  one  thinks  what  might 
have  happened.  I  shall  always  remember  you  as  you  seemed 
to  me  the  day  you  brought  me  here.  I  was,  of  course,  feeling 
pretty  limp,  and  the  sight  of  you,  in  such  splendid  vigour, 
made  me  intensely  envious.  And  even  though  I  see  you  now 
"unhorsed,"  I  shall  not  lose  my  first  impression,  because  I 
know  that  by  and  by  you  will  be  just  like  that  again — looking 
and  feeling  as  if  you  were  fit  to  conquer  the  world. 

It  was  the  most  personal  note  he  had  had  from 
her,  and  he  liked  it  very  much.  He  couldn't  help 
hoping  for  more  next  day,  and  did  his  best  to  se* 
cure  it  by  the  words  he  wrote  in  reply.  But  Wed 
nesday's  missive  was  merely  a  merrily  piquant 
description  of  the  way  she  was  trying  her  returning 
strength  by  one  expedition  after  another  about  her 
room.  On  Thursday  she  sent  him  some  very  jolly 
sketches  of  her  "packing  up,"  and  on  Friday  she 
wrote  hurriedly  to  say  that  she  couldn't  write,  be 
cause  she  was  making  little  visits  to  other  patients. 

Jordan  King  had  never  been  more  exacting  as  to 
his  dressing  than  on  that  Saturday.  He  studied  his 
face  in  the  glass  after  an  orderly  had  shaved  him,  to 
make  sure  that  the  blue  bloom  it  took  but  a  few 


'124         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

hours  to  acquire  had  been  properly  subdued. 
He  insisted  on  a  particular  silk  shirt  to  wear  under 
the  loose  black-silk  lounging  robe  which  enveloped 
him,  and  in  which  he  was  to  be  allowed  to-day  to 
lie  upon  the  bed  instead'of  in  it.  His  hair  had  to 
be  brushed  and  parted  three  separate  times  before 
he  was  satisfied. 

"I  didn't  know  I  was  such  a  fop,"  he  said,  laugh 
ing,  as  Miss  Dwight  rallied  him  on  his  preparations 
for  receiving  the  ladies.  "But  somehow  it  seems 
to  make  a  difference  when  a  man  lies  on  his  back. 
They  have  him  at  a  disadvantage.  Now  if  you'll 
just  give  me  a  perfectly  good  handkerchief  I'll  con 
sider  that  the  reception  committee  is  ready.  Thank 
you.  It  must  be  almost  time  for  them,  isn't  it?" 

For  a  young  man  who  usually  spent  compara 
tively  little  of  his  time  in  attentions  to  members  of 
the  other  sex,  but  who  was  accustomed,  neverthe 
less,  to  be  entirely  at  his  ease  with  them,  King 
acknowledged  to  himself  that  he  felt  a  curious  ex 
citement  mounting  in  his  veins  as  the  light  foot 
steps  of  his  guests  approached. 

Mrs.  Burns  came  first  into  his  line  of  vision, 
wearing  white  from  head  to  foot,  for  it  was  early 
June  and  the  weather  had  grown  suddenly  to  be  like 
that  of  midsummer.  Behind  her  followed  not  the 
black  figure  King's  memory  had  persistently  pic 
tured,  but  one  also  clad  in  white — the  very  simple 


WHITE  LILACS  125 

white  of  a  plain  linen  suit,  with  a  close  little  white 
hat  drawn  over  the  bronze-red  hair.  Under  this 
hat  the  eyes  King  remembered  glowed  warmly, 
and  now  there  was  health  in  the  face,  which  was  so 
much  more  charming  than  the  one  he  recalled  that 
for  a  moment  he  could  hardly  believe  the  two  the 
same.  Yet- — the  profile,  as  she  looked  at  Mrs. 
Burns,  who  spoke  first,  was  the  one  which  had  been 
stamped  on  his  mind  as  one  not  to  be  forgotten. 

She  was  looking  at  him  now,  and  there  was  no 
pity  in  her  bright  glance — he  could  not  have  borne 
to  see  it  if  it  had  been  there.  She  came  straight 
up  to  the  bed,  her  hand  outstretched — her  gloves 
were  in  the  other,  as  if  she  were  on  her  way  down 
stairs,  as  he  presently  found  she  was.  She  spoke 
in  a  full,  rich  voice,  very  different  from  the  weary 
one  he  had  heard  before. 

"Do  you  know  me?"  she  asked,  smiling. 

"Almost  I  don't.  Have  you  really  been  ill,  or 
did  you  make  it  all  up?" 

"I'm  beginning  to  believe  I  did.  I  feel  myself 
as  if  it  must  be  all  dream.  How  glad  I  am  to  find 
you  able  to  be  dressed.  Doctor  Burns  says  you 
will  go  home  to-day,  too." 

"This  evening,  I  believe.  I  thought  you  were 
not  going  till  then  either." 

"This  very  hour."  She  glanced  at  Mrs.  Burns, 
"My  good  fairy  begged  that  I  might  go  early,  be- 


126          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

cause  it  is  her  little  son's  birthday.  I  am  to  be  at 
a  real  party;  think  of  that!" 

"The  Little-Un's  or  Bob's?"  King  asked  hk 
other  visitor. 

Bob  was  an  adopted  child,  taken  by  Burns  be: 
fore  his  marriage,  but  the  little  Chester's  parent! 
made  no  difference  between  them,  and  a  birthday 
celebration  for  the  older  boy  was  sure  to  be  quite 
as  much  of  an  occasion  as  for  the  two-year-old. 

"Bob's,"  Mrs.  Burns  explained.  "He  is  ten; 
we  can't  believe  it.  And  he  has  set  his  heart  on 
having  Miss  Linton  at  home  for  his  party.  He  hai 
read  her  little  book  almost  out  of  its  covers,  and  she 
has  been  doing  some  place-cards  for  his  guests— 
the  prettiest  things!"  Ellen  opened  a  small 
package  she  was  carrying  and  showed  King  the 
cards. 

He  gazed  at  them  approvingly.  "They're  the 
jolliest  I  ever  saw;  the  youngsters  will  be  crazy 
over  them.  For  a  convalescent  it  strikes  me 
Miss  Linton  has  been  the  busiest  known  to  the 
hospital." 

"You,  yourself,  have  kept  me  rather  busy,  Mr. 
King,"  the  girl  observed. 

"So  I  have.  I'm  wondering  what  I'm  to  do  when 
you  are  at  Doctor  Burns's  and  I  at  home." 

She  smiled.  "I  shall  be  there  only  a  week  if  I 
keep  on  gaining  as  fast  as  I  am  now." 


WHITE  LILACS  127 

"A  fortnight,"  interpolated  Mrs.  Burns,  "is  the 
earliest  possible  date  of  your  leaving  us.  And  not 
then  unless  we  think  you  fit." 

"Did  you  ever  know  of  such  kindness?"  Anne 
Linton  asked  softly  of  King.  "To  a  perfect 
stranger?" 

He  nodded.  "Nothing  you  could  tell  me  of 
their  kindness  could  surprise  me.  About  that 
fortnight — would  it  be  asking  a  great  deal  of  you 
to  keep  on  sending  me  that  daily  note?" 

"Isn't  there  a  telephone  in  your  own  room  at 
home?"  she  asked. 

"Yes — how  did  you  know?" 

"I  guessed  it.  Wouldn't  a  little  telephone 
talk  do  quite  as  well — or  better — than  a  letter?" 

"It  would  be  very  nice,"  admitted  King.  "But 
I  should  hate  to  do  without  the  letter.  The  days 
are  each  a  month  long  at  present,  you  know,  and 
each  hour  is  equal  to  twenty-four.  Make  it  a 
letter,  too,  will  you,  please?" 

Miss  Linton  looked  at  Mrs.  Burns.  "Do 
you  think  circumstances  still  alter  cases?"  she 
inquired. 

Her  profile,  as  King  caught  it  again,  struck  him 
as  a  perfect  outline.  To  think  of  this  girl  starting 
out  again,  travelling  alone,  selling  books  from  door 
to  door! 

"I  think  you  will  be  quite  warranted  in  being 


128          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

very  good  to  Mr.  King — while  his  hours  drag  as  he 
describes,"  Ellen  assented  cordially. 

"As  soon  as  I  can  sit  up  at  any  sort  of  decent 
angle  I  can  do  a  lot  of  work  on  paper,"  King 
asserted.  "Then  I'll  make  the  time  fly.  Mean 
while — it's  all  right." 

They  talked  together  for  a  little,  then  King 
sent  for  Franz,  who  came  and  played  superbly, 
his  eager  eyes  oftenest  on  Jordan  King,  like  those 
of  an  adoring  and  highly  intelligent  dog.  Anne 
watched  Franz,  and  King  watched  Anne.  Mrs. 
Burns,  seeming  to  watch  nobody,  noted  with 
affectionate  and  somewhat  concerned  interest  the 
apparent  trend  of  the  whole  situation.  She  could 
not  help  thinking,  rather  dubiously,  of  Mrs. 
Alexander  King,  Jordan's  mother. 

And,  as  things  happen,  it  was  just  as  Franz  laid 
down  his  bow,  after  a  brilliant  rendering  of  a  great 
concerto,  that  Mrs.  Alexander  King  came  in.  She 
entered  noiselessly,  a  slender,  tall,  black-veiled 
figure,  as  scrupulously  attired  in  her  conventional 
deep  mourning  as  if  it  were  not  hot  June  weather, 
when  some  lightening  of  her  sombre  garb  would 
have  seemed  not  only  rational  but  kind  to  those 
who  must  observe  her. 

"Oh,  mother!"  King  exclaimed.  "In  all  this 
heat?  I  didn't  expect  you.  I'm  afraid  you  ought 
not  to  have  come." 


WHITE  LILACS  129 

She  bent  over  him.  "The  heat  has  nothing  to  do 
with  my  feelings  toward  my  son.  I  couldn't  neg 
lect  you,  dear." 

She  greeted  Ellen  cordially,  who  presented  Miss 
Linton.  King  lost  nothing  of  his  mother's  polite 
scrutiny  of  the  girl,  who  bore  it  without  the  slight 
est  sign  of  recognizing  it  beyond  the  lowering  of  her 
lashes  after  the  first  long  look  of  the  tall  lady  had 
continued  a  trifle  beyond  the  usual  limit.  Book 
agent  though  she  might  be,  Miss  Linton's  manner 
was  faultless,  a  fact  King  noted  with  curious  pride 
in  his  new  friend — whom,  though  he  himself  was 
meeting  her  for  but  the  second  time,  he  somehow 
wanted  to  stand  any  social  test  which  might  be  put 
upon  her.  And  he  well  knew  that  his  lady  mother 
could  apply  such  tests  if  anybody  could. 

In  his  heart  he  was  saying  that  it  seemed  hard 
luck,  he  must  say  good-bye  to  Anne  Linton  in  that 
mother's  presence.  There  was  small  chance  to 
make  it  a  leave-taking  of  even  ordinary  good  fel 
lowship  beneath  that  dignified,  quietly  appraising 
eye,  to  say  nothmg  of  endowing  it  with  a  quality 
which  should  in  some  measure  compensate  for  the 
fact  that  it  might  be  a  parting  for  a  long  time  to 
come.  However  much  or  little  the  exchange  of 
notes  during  these  last  weeks  might  have  come  to 
mean  to  Jordan  King,  aside  from  the  diversion  they 
had  offered  to  one  sorely  oppressed  of  mind  and 


130         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

body,  he  resented  being  now  forced  to  those  re 
strained  phrases  of  farewell  which  he  well  knew 
were  the  only  ones  that  would  commend  him  to  his 
mother's  approval. 

Mrs.  Burns  and  Miss  Linton  rose  to  go,  sum 
moned  by  Red  Pepper  himself,  who  was  to  take 
them.  In  the  momentary  surge  of  greeting  and 
small  talk  which  ensued,  King  surreptitiously 
beckoned  Anne  near.  He  looked  up  with  the  direct 
gaze  of  the  man  who  intends  to  make  the  most  of 
the  little  that  Fate  sends  him. 

"Letters  are  interesting  things,  aren't  they?"  he 
asked. 

"Very.  And  when  they  are  written  by  a  man 
lying  on  his  back,  who  doesn't  know  when  he  is 
down,  they  are  stimulating  things,"  she  answered; 
and  there  was  that  in  the  low  tone  of  her  voice  and 
the  look  of  her  eyes  which  was  as  if  she  had  pinned 
a  medal  for  gallantry  on  the  breast  of  the  black  silk 
robe. 

Mrs.  Alexander  King  looked  at  her  son — and 
moved  nearer.  She  addressed  Anne.  "I  am  more 
than  glad  to  see,  Miss  Linton,"  said  she,  "that  you 
are  fully  recovered.  Please  let  me  wish  you  much 
success  in  your  work.  I  suppose  we  shall  not  see 
you  again  after  you  leave  Mrs.  Burns." 

"No,  Mrs.  King,"  responded  Anne's  voice  com 
posedly.  "Thank  you  for  that  very  kjic^  wish." 


WHITE  LILACS  131 

She  turned  to  the  prostrate  one  once  more.  She 
put  her  hand  in  his,  and  he  held  it  fast  for  an  in 
stant,  and,  in  spite  of  his  mother's  gaze,  it  was  an 
appreciable  instant  longer  than  formality  called 
for. 

"I  shall  hope  to  see  you  again,"  he  saif1  dis 
tinctly,  and  the  usual  phrase  acquired  a  meaning 
it  does  not  always  possess. 

Then  they  were  gone,  and  he  had  only  the  remem 
brance  of  Anne's  parting  look,  veiled  and  maidenly, 
but  the  comprehending  look  of  a  real  friend  none 
the  less. 

"My  dear  boy,  you  must  be  quite  worn  out  with 
all  this  company  in  this  exhausting  weather,"  mur 
mured  Mrs.  King,  laying  a  cool  hand  on  a  de 
cidedly  hot  brow. 

The  brow  moved  beneath  her  hand,  on  account 
of  a  contraction  of  the  smooth  forehead,  as  if  with 
pain.  "I  really  hadn't  noticed  the  weather, 
mother,"  replied  her  son's  voice  with  some  con 
straint  in  it. 

"You  must  rest  now,  dear.  People  who  are  per 
fectly  well  themselves  are  often  most  inconsiderate 
of  an  invalid,  quite  without  intention,  of  course.'* 

"If  I  never  receive  any  less  consideration  than  I 
have  had  here,  I  shall  do  very  well  for  the  rest  of 
my  life." 

"I  know;  they  have  all  been  very  kind.     But  I 


132         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

shall  be  so  relieved  when  I  can  have  you  at  home, 
where  you  will  not  feel  obliged  to  have  other  pa 
tients  on  your  mind.  In  your  condition  it  is  too 
much  to  expect." 

Jordan  King  was  a  good  son,  and  he  loved  his 
mother  deeply.  But  there  were  moments  when,  as 
now,  if  he  could  have  laid  a  kind  but  firm  hand 
upon  her  handsome,  emotional  mouth,  he  would 
have  been  delighted  to  do  so. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS 

WHAT  would  you  give  for  a  drive  with  me 
this  morning?"  Burns  surveyed  his 
patient,  now  dressed  and  downstairs 
upon  a  pillared  rear  porch,  wistfulness  in  his  eyes 
but  determination  on  his  lips. 

"Do  you  mean  it?" 

"Yes.  We  may  as  well  try  what  that  back  will 
stand.  Most  of  the  drive  will  be  sitting  still  in  front 
of  houses,  anyhow,  and  in  your  plaster  jacket 
you're  pretty  safe  from  injury." 

"Thank  heaven!"  murmured  Jordan  King 
fervently. 

Two  minutes  later  he  was  beside  Burns  in  the 
Doctor's  car,  staring  eagerly  ahead,  lifting  his  hat 
now  and  then  as  some  one  gave  him  interested 
greeting  from  passing  motor.  More  than  once 
Burns  was  obliged  to  bring  his  car  to  a  short 
standstill,  so  that  some  delighted  friend  might 
grasp  King's  hand  and  tell  him  how  good  it  seemed 
to  see  him  out.  With  one  and  all  the  young  man 
was  very  blithe,  though  he  let  them  do  most  of  the 

133 


i34          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

talking.  They  all  told  him  heartily  that  he  was 
looking  wonderfully  well,  while  they  ignored  with 
the  understanding  of  the  intelligent  certain  signs 
which  spoke  of  physical  and  mental  strain. 

"Your  friends,"  Burns  remarked  as  they  went  on 
after  one  particularly  pleasant  encounter,  "seem  to 
belong  to  the  class  who  possess  brains.  I  wish  it 
were  a  larger  class.  Every  day  I  find  some  patient 
suffering  from  depression  caused  by  fool  comments 
from  some  well-meaning  acquaintance." 

"I've  had  a  few  of  those,  too,"  King  ac 
knowledged. 

"I'll  wager  you  have.  Well,  among  a  certain 
class  of  people  there  seems  to  be  an  idea  that  you 
can't  show  real  sympathy  without  telling  the  victim 
that  he's  looking  very  ill,  and  that  you  have  known 
several  such  cases  which  didn't  recover.  I  have  one 
little  woman  on  my  list  who  would  have  been  well 
long  ago  if  she  hadn't  had  so  many  loving  friends  to 
impress  her  with  the  idea  that  her  case  was  des 
perate.  I  talk  Dutch  to  such  people  now  and  then, 
when  I  get  the  chance,  but  it  doesn't  do  much  good. 
Sometimes  I  get  so  thundering  mad  I  can't  stand  it, 
and  then  I  rip  out  something  that  makes  me  a  last 
ing  enemy." 

"You  get  some  comfort  out  of  the  explosion,  any 
how,"  King  commented  with  a  glance  at  the 
strong  profile  beside  him.  "  Besides,  you  may  do 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  135 

more  good  than  you  know.  Anybody  who  had  had 
a  good  dressing  down  from  you  once  wouldn't  be 
likely  to  forget  it  in  a  hurry." 

Burns  laughed  at  this,  as  they  stopped  in 
front  of  a  house.  King  had  a  half-hour  wait  while 
his  friend  was  inside.  The  car  stood  in  heavy 
shade,  and  he  was  very  comfortable.  He  took  a 
letter  from  his  pocket  as  he  sat,  a  letter  which 
looked  as  if  it  had  been  many  times  unfolded,  and 
read  it  once  more,  his  face  very  sober  as  his  eyes 
followed  the  familiar  lines: 


DEAR  MR.  KING: 

I  was  very,  very  sorry  to  go  away  without  seeing  you  to  say 
good-bye  after  our  interesting  correspondence.  Mrs.  Burns 
and  I 'had  such  a  pleasant  visit  with  your  mother,  in  your 
absence,  that  we  felt  rewarded  for  our  call,  and  it  was  good 
to  know  that  you  could  be  out,  yet  of  course  we  were  very 
disappointed.  I  do  hope  that  all  will  go  well  with  you,  and 
that  very  rapidly,  for  I  can  guess  how  eager  you  are  to  be  at 
work. 

Of  course  once  I  am  off  on  my  travels  I  shall  have  no  time 
for  letters.  No,  that  isn't  quite  frank,  is  it?  Well,  I  will  be 
truthful  and  say  honestly  that  I  am  sure  it  is  not  best  that  I 
should  keep  on  writing.  I  am  glad  if  the  letters  have,  as  you 
say,  helped  you  through  the  worst  of  the  siege;  they  surely 
have  helped  me.  But  now — our  ways  part.  Sometime  I  may 
give  you  a  hail  from  somewhere — when  I  am  lonely  and  longing 
to  know  how  you  get  on.  And  sometime  I  may  be  back 
at  my  old  home.  But  wherever  I  am  I  shall  never  forget  you, 
Jordan  King,  for  you  have  put  something  into  my  life  which 
Was  not  there  before  and  I  am  the  better  for  it.  As  for  you — 


136         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

your  life  will  not  be  one  whit  the  less  big  and  efficient  for  this 
trying  experience;  it  will  be  bigger,  I  think,  and  finer.  I  am 
glad,  glad  I  have  known  you. 

ANNE  LINTON. 

For  the  hundredth  time  King  felt  his  heart  sink 
as  he  thought  of  that  prevented  last  interview. 
His  mother  had  prevented  it.  It  was  perfectly 
true  that  he  was  out,  and  away  from  home — out  in 
a  wheeled  chair,  which  had  been  pushed  by  Franz 
through  a  gap  in  the  hedge  between  the  Kings' 
lawn  and  the  Wentworths'  next  door.  Just  on  the 
other  side  of  that  hedge  the  chair  had  paused,  where 
Sally  Wentworth,  his  friend  of  long  standing,  was 
serving  tea  to  a  little  group  of  young  people,  all 
intimates  and  all  delighted  to  have  the  invalid  oncts 
more  in  their  midst.  Under  the  group  of  great 
copper  beeches  which  made  of  that  corner  of  the 
Wentworth  lawn  a  summer  drawing  room,  King 
had  sat  in  his  chair  drinking  tea  and  listening  to 
gay  chatter — and  wondering  why  he  had  not  been 
able  to  get  Anne  Linton  on  the  telephone  so  far 
that  day.  And  at  that  very  time,  so  he  now  bitterly 
reflected,  she  and  Mrs.  Burns  had  made  their  call 
upon  him,  only  to  be  told  by  Mrs.  King  that  he 
was  "out." 

His  mother  was  unquestionably  a  lady,  and  she 
had  told  the  truth;  he  could  not  conceive  of  her 
doing  otherwise.  He  knew  that  she  undoubtedly, 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  137 

quite  as  Anne  had  said,  had  made  the  call  a  pleas-, 
ant  one.  But  she  had  known  that  he  was  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  the  house,  and  that  he  would  be 
bitterly  disappointed  not  to  be  summoned.  She 
had  not  mentioned  to  him  the  fact  of  the  call  at  all 
until  next  day — when  Anne  Linton  had  been  gone  a 
full  two  hours  upon  her  train.  Then,  when  he  had 
called  up  Mrs.  Burns,  in  a  fever  of  haste  to  learn 
what  had  happened  and  what  there  might  yet  be  a 
chance  of  happening,  he  had  discovered  that  Ellen 
herself  had  tried  three  times  to  get  him,  upon  the 
telephone,  and  had  at  last  realized — though  this  she 
did  not  say — that  it  was  not  intended  that  she  should. 

King  understood  his  mother  perfectly.  She 
would  scorn  directly  to  deceive  him,  yet  to  intrigue 
quietly  but  effectively  against  him  in  such  a  case  as 
this  she  would  consider  only  her  duty.  She  had 
seen  clearly  his  interest  in  the  stranger,  unin- 
troduced  and  unvouched  for,  taken  in  by  kind 
people  in  an  emergency,  and  though  showing  un 
questionable  marks  of  breeding,  none  the  less  a 
stranger.  She  had  feared  for  him,  in  his  present 
vulnerable  condition;  and  she  had  done  her  part  in 
preventing  that  final  parting  which  might  have 
contained  elements  of  danger.  That  was  all  there 
was  to  it. 

For  the  present  King  was  helpless,  and  there 
could  be  no  possible  use  in  reproaching  his  mother 


138         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

for  her  action — or  lack  of  action.  Once  let  him  get 
up  on  his  feet,  his  own  master  once  more — then  it 
would  be  of  use  to  talk.  And  talk  he  would  some 
day.  Also  he  would  act.  Meanwhile 

Red  Pepper  Burns  came  out  of  the  house  and 
scrutinized  his  friend  and  patient  closely  as  he  ap 
proached.  "Want  to  go  on,  or  shall  I  take  you 
home?"  he  inquired. 

"Take  me  on — anywhere — everywhere!  Some 
thing  inside  will  break  loose  if  you  don't."  King 
spoke  with  a  smothered  note  of  irritation  new  to 
him  in  Burns's  experience. 

"You've  about  reached  the  limit,  have  you?'* 
The  question  was  straightforward,  matter-of-fact 
in  tone,  but  King  knew  the  sympathy  behind  it. 

"I  rather  have,"  the  young  man  admitted, 
"I'm  ashamed  to  own  it." 

"You  needn't  be.  It's  a  wonder  you  haven't 
reached  it  sooner;  I  should  have.  Well,  if  you 
stand  this  drive  pretty  well  to-day  you  ought  to 
come  on  fast.  With  that  back,  you  may  be  thank 
ful  you're  getting  off  as  easily  as  you  are." 

"I  am  thankful — everlastingly  thankful.  It's 
just " 

"I  know.  Blow  off  some  of  that  steam;  it  won't 
hurt  you.  Here  we  are  on  the  straight  road.  I'll 
open  up  and  give  you  a  taste  of  what  poor  Henley 
felt  the  first  time  his  crippled  body  and  his  big, 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  139 

uncrippled  spirit  tasted  the  delight  of  'Speed.' 
Remember?" 

"Indeed  I  do.  Oh,  I'm  not  complaining.  You 
understand  that,  Red?" 

"Of  course  I  understand — absolutely.  And  I 
understand  that  you  need  just  what  I  say — to  blow 
off  a  lot  of  steam.  Hurt  you  or  not,  I'm  going  to 
let  loose  for  a  couple  of  miles  and  blow  it  off  for 
you." 

In  silence,  broken  only  by  the  low  song  of  the 
motor  as  it  voiced  its  joy  in  the  widening  license  to 
show  its  power,  the  two  men  took  the  wind  in  their 
faces  as  the  car  shot  down  the  road,  at  the  moment 
a  clear  highway  for  them.  King  had  snatched  off 
his  hat,  and  his  dark  hair  blew  wildly  about  his  fore 
head,  while  his  eyes  watched  the  way  as  intently 
as  if  he  had  been  driving  himself,  though  his  body 
hardly  tensed,  so  complete  was  his  confidence  in 
the  steady  hands  on  the  wheel.  Faster  and  faster 
flew  the  car,  until  the  speed  indicator  touched  a  mark 
seldom  passed  by  King  himself  at  his  most  reckless 
moments.  His  lips,  set  at  first,  broke  into  a  smile 
as  the  pointing  needle  circled  the  dial,  and  his  eyes, 
if  any  could  have  seen  them,  would  have  told  the 
relief  there  was  for  him  in  escape  by  flight,  though 
only  temporary,  from  the  grinding  pullof  monotony 
and  disablement. 

At  the  turn  ahead  appeared  obstruction,  and 


i4o         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Burns  was  obliged  to  begin  slowing  down.  When 
the  car  was  again  at  its  ordinary  by  no  means  slow 
pace,  King  spoke: 

"Bless  you  for  a  mind  reader!  That  was  bully, 
and  blew  away  a  lot  of  distemper.  If  you'll  just  do 
it  again  going  back  I'll  submit  to  the  afternoon  of  a 
clam  in  a  bed  of  mud." 

"Good.  We'll  beat  that  record  going  back,  if  we 
break  the  speedometer.  Racing  with  time  isn't 
supposed  to  be  the  game  for  a  convalescent,  but 
I'm  inclined  to  think  it's  the  dose  you  need,  just 
the  same.  I  expect,  Jord,  that  the  first  time  you 
pull  on  a  pair  of  rubber  boots  and  go  to  climbing 
around  a  big  concrete  dam  somewhere  your  heart 
will  break  for  joy." 

"My  heart  will  stand  anything,  so  that  it's 
action." 

"Will  it?  I  thought  it  might  be  a  bit  damaged. 
It's  had  a  good  deal  of  reaction  to  stand  lately,  I'm 
afraid." 

There  was  silence  for  a  minute,  then  King  spoke: 
"Red,  you're  a  wizard." 

"Not  much  of  a  one.  It  doesn't  take  ex 
traordinary  powers  of  penetration  to  guess  that  a 
flame  applied  to  a  bundle  of  kindling  will  cause  a 
fire.  And  when  you  keep  piling  on  the  fuel  some 
thing's  likely  to  get  burned." 

"Did  I  pile  on  the  fuel?" 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  141 

"You  sure  did.  If  there  had  been  gunpowder 
under  the  kindling  you  could  have  expected  an  ex 
plosion — and  a  wreck.'* 

"There's  no  wreck." 

"No?     I  thought  there  might  be — somewhere." 

King  spoke  quickly.  "Do  you  think  I  carried  it 
too  far?" 

"I  think  you  carried  it  some  distance — for  an  in 
valid's  diversion." 

The  young  man  flushed  hotly.  "I  was  gen 
uinely  interested  and  I  saw  no  harm.  If  there's 
any  harm  done  it's  to  myself,  and  I  can  stand 
that.  I'm  not  conceited  enough  to  imagine  that 
a  broken-backed  cripple  could  make  any  lasting 
impression." 

Burns  turned  and  surveyed  his  companion  with 
some  amusement.  "Do  you  consider  that  a  de 
scription  of  yourself?" 

"I  certainly  do."  Jordan  King's  strong  young 
jaw  took  on  a  grim  expression. 

"Know  this  then"  —Burns  spoke  deliberately— 
"there's  not  a  sane  girl  who  liked  you  well  enough 
before  your  accident  to  marry  you  who  wouldn't 
marry  you  now." 

"That's  absurd.  Women  want  men,  not 
cripples." 

"You're  no  cripple.    Stop  using  that  term." 

"What  else?        A  man  condemned  to  wear  a 


142          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

plaster  jacket  for  at  least  a  year."  King  evidently 
did  his  best  not  to  speak  bitterly. 

"Bosh!  Suppose  the  same  thing  happened  to 
me.  Would  you  look  on  me  askance  for  the  rest  of 
my  days,  no  matter  what  man's  job  I  kept  on 
tackling?  Besides,  the  plaster  jacket's  only  a  pre 
caution.  You  wouldn't  disintegrate  without  it." 

King  looked  at  Red  Pepper  Burns  and  smiled  in 
spite  of  himself.  "I'm  glad  to  hear  that,  I'm  sure. 
As  for  looking  at  you  askance — you  are  you,  R.  P. 
Burns." 

"Apply  the  same  logic  to  yourself.  You  are  you, 
and  will  continue  to  be  you,  plus  some  assets  you 
haven't  had  occasion  to  acquire  before  in  the  way 
of  dogged  endurance,  control  of  mind,  and  such 
like  qualities,  bred  of  need  for  them.  You  will  be 
more  to  us  all  than  you  ever  were,  and  that's  saying 
something.  And  the  back's  going  to  be  a  perfectly 
good  back;  give  it  time.  As  for — if  you  don't  mind 
my  saying  it — that  invalid's  diversion,  I  don't 
suppose  it's  hurt  you  any.  What  I'm  concerned 
for  is  the  hurt  it  may  have  done  somebody  else.  I 
don't  need  to  tell  you  that  it  wasn't  possible  for 
Ellen  and  me  to  have  that  little  girl  on  our  hearts  all 
that  time  and  not  get  mightily  interested  in  her. 
She's  the  real  thing,  too,  we're  convinced,  and  we 
care  a  good  deal  what  happens  to  her  next." 

Jordan  King  drew  a  deep  breath.     "So  do  I." 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  143 

Burns  gave  him  a  quick  look.  " That's  good. 
But  you  let  her  go  away  without  making  sure  of 
keeping  any  hold  on  her.  You  don't  know  where 
she  is  now." 

King  shot  him  a  return  look.  "That  wasn't  my 
fault.  That  was  hard  luck." 

"I  don't  think  much  of  luck.    Get  around  it." 

"I'll  do  my  best,  I  promise  you.  But  I  wish 
you'd  tell  me — 

"Yes?" 

—why  you  should  think  I  had  done  her  any 
harm.  Heaven  knows  I  wouldn't  do  that  for  my 
right  arm!" 

"She  didn't  make  a  sign — not  one — of  any  in 
jury,  I  assure  you.  She's  a  gallant  little  person,  if 
ever  there  was  one — and  a  thoroughbred,  though 
she  may  be  as  poor  as  a  church  mouse.  No,  I 
should  never  have  guessed  it.  She  went  away  with 
all  sails  set  and  the  flags  flying.  All  I  know  is  what 
my  wife  says." 

"Please  tell  me." 

"I'm  not  sure  it  will  be  good  for  you."  Burns 
smiled  as  he  drew  up  beside  a  house.  "However — 
if  you  will  have  it — she  says  Miss  Anne  Linton  took 
away  with  her  every  one  of  your  numerous  letters, 
notes,  and  even  calling  cards  which  had  been  sent 
with  flowers.  She  also  took  a  halftone  snapshot 
of  you  out  at  the  Coldtown  dam,  cut  from  a  news- 


144          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

paper,  published  the  Sunday  after  your  accident. 
The  sun  was  in  your  eyes  and  you  were  scowling 
like  a  fiend;  it  was  the  worst  picture  of  you  con 
ceivable." 

"Girls  do  those  things,  I  suppose,"  murmured 
King  with  a  rising  colour. 

"Granted.  And  now  and  then  one  does  it  for  a 
purpose  which  we  won't  consider.  But  a  girl  of  the 
type  we  feel  sure  Miss  Linton  to  be  carefully  de 
stroys  all  such  things  from  men  she  doesn't  care  for 
— particularly  if  she  has  started  on  a  trip  and  is 
travelling  light.  Of  course  she  may  have  fooled  us 
all  and  be  the  cleverest  little  adventuress  ever 
heard  of.  But  I'd  stake  a  good  deal  on  Ellen's 
judgment.  Women  don't  fool  women  much,  you 
know,  whatever  they  do  with  men." 

He  disappeared  into  a  small  brown  house,  and 
King  was  left  once  more  with  his  own  thoughts. 
When  Burns  came  out  they  drove  on  again  with 
little  attempt  at  conversation,  for  Burns's  calls  were 
not  far  apart.  King  presently  began  to  find  himself 
growing  weary,  and  sat  very  quietly  in  his  seat  dur 
ing  the  Doctor's  absences,  experiencing,  as  he  had 
done  many  times  of  late,  a  sense  of  intense  con 
tempt  for  himself  because  of  his  own  physical 
weakness.  In  all  his  sturdy  life  he  had  never  known 
what  it  was  to  feel  not  up  to  doing  whatever  there 
might  be  to  be  done.  Fatigue  he  had  known,  the 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  145 

healthy  and  not  unpleasant  fatigue  which  follows 
vigorous  and  prolonged  labour,  but  never  weakness 
or  pain,  either  of  body  or  of  mind.  Now  he  was 
suffering  both. 

"Had  about  enough?"  Burns  inquired  as  he  re 
turned  to  the  car  for  the  eighth  time.  "Shall  I  take 
you  home?" 

"I'm  all  right." 

Burns  gave  him  a  sharp  glance.  "To  be  sure  you 
are.  But  we'll  go  home  nevertheless.  The  rest  of 
my  work  is  at  the  hospital  anyhow." 

As  they  were  approaching  the  long  stretch  of 
straight  road  to  which  King  had  looked  forward  an 
hour  ago,  but  which  he  was  disgusted  to  find  him 
self  actually  rather  dreading  now,  a  great  closed  car 
of  luxurious  type,  and  bearing  upon  its  top  con 
siderable  travelling  luggage,  slowed  down  as  it 
neared,  and  a  liveried  chauffeur  held  up  a  detaining 
hand.  Burns  stopped  to  answer  a  series  of  ques 
tions  as  to  the  best  route  toward  a  neighbouring 
city.  There  were  matters  of  road  mending  and 
detours  to  be  made  plain  to  the  inquirers,  so  the 
detention  occupied  a  full  five  minutes,  during  which 
the  chauffeur  got  down  and  came  to  Burns's  side 
with  a  road  map,  with  which  the  two  wrestled  after 
the  fashion  usually  made  necessary  by  such  aids  to 
travel. 

During  this  period  Jordan  King  underwent  a  dis- 


I46         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

turbing  experience.  Looking  up  with  his  usual  keen 
glance,  one  trained  to  observe  whatever  might  be 
before  it,  he  took  in  at  a  sweep  the  nature  of  the 
party  in  the  big  car.  That  it  was  a  rich  man's 
car,  and  that  its  occupants  were  those  who  natu 
rally  belonged  in  it,  there  was  no  question.  From 
the  owner  himself,  an  aristocrat  who  looked  the 
part,  as  not  all  aristocrats  do,  to  those  who  were 
presumably  his  wife,  his  son,  and  daughters,  all 
were  of  the  same  type.  Simply  dressed  as  if  for  a 
long  journey,  they  yet  diffused  that  aroma  of  lux 
ury  which  cannot  be  concealed. 

The  presumable  son,  a  tall,  hawk-nosed  young 
man  who  sat  beside  the  chauffeur,  turned  to  speak 
to  those  inside,  and  King's  glance  followed  his.  He 
thus  caught  sight  of  a  profile  next  the  open  window 
and  close  by  him.  He  stared  at  it,  his  heart  sud 
denly  standing  still.  Who  was  this  girl  with  the 
bronze-red  hair,  the  perfect  outline  of  nose  and 
mouth  and  chin,  the  sea-shell  colouring?  Even  as 
he  stared  she  turned  her  head,  and  her  eyes  looked 
straight  into  his. 

He  had  seen  Miss  Anne  Linton  only  twice,  and 
on  the  two  occasions  she  had  seemed  to  him  like 
two  entirely  different  girls.  But  this  girl — was  she 
not  that  one  who  had  come  to  visit  him  in  his  room 
at  the  hospital,  full  of  returning  health  and  there 
fore  of  waxing  beauty  and  vigour  ? 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  147 

For  one  instant  he  was  sure  it  was  she,  no  matter 
how  strange  it  was  that  she  should  be  here,  in  this 

rich  man's  car — unless But  he  had  no  time  to 

think  it  out  before  he  was  overwhelmed  by  the  in 
dubitable  evidence  that,  whoever  this  girl  was,  she 
did  not  know  him.  Her  eyes — apparently  the  same 
wonderful  eyes  which  he  could  now  never  forget — 
looked  into  his  without  a  sign  of  recognition,  and 
her  colour — the  colour  of  radiantly  blooming  youth 
— did  not  change  perceptibly  under  his  gaze.  And 
after  that  one  glance,  in  which  she  seemed  to  sur 
vey  him  closely,  after  the  manner  of  girls,  as  if  he 
were  an  interesting  specimen,  her  eyes  travelled  to 
Red  Pepper  Burns  and  rested  lightly  on  him,  as  if 
he,  too,  were  a  person  of  but  passing  significance  to 
the  motor  traveller  looking  for  diversion  after  many 
dusty  miles  of  more  or  less  monotonous  sights. 

King  continued  to  gaze  at  her  with  a  steadiness 
somewhat  indefensible  except  as  one  considers  that 
all  motorists,  meeting  on  the  highway,  are  accus 
tomed  to  take  note  of  one  another  as  comrades  of 
the  road.  He  was  not  conscious  that  the  other 
young  people  in  the  car  also  regarded  him  with 
eyes  of  interest,  and  if  he  had  he  would  not  have 
realized  just  why.  His  handsome,  alert  face,  its 
outlines  slightly  sharpened  by  his  late  experiences, 
his  well-dressed,  stalwart  figure,  carried  no  hint  of 
the  odious  plaster  jacket  which  to  his  own  think- 


i48          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

ing  put  him  outside  the  pale  of  interest  for  any 
one. 

But  it  could  not  be  Anne  Linton;  of  course  it 
could  not!  What  should  a  poor  little  book  agent 
be  doing  here  in  a  rich  man's  car — unless  she  were 
in  his  employ?  And  somehow  the  fact  that  this 
girl  was  not  in  any  man's  employ  was  established 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  young  man  on  the 
front  seat  spoke  to  her,  as  he  now  did,  plainly  heard 
by  King.  Though  all  he  said  was  some  laughing, 
more  or  less  witty  thing  about  this  being  the 
nineteenth  time,  by  actual  count  since  breakfast, 
that  a  question  of  roads  and  routes  had  arisen,  he 
spoke  as  to  an  equal  in  social  status,  and  also — 
this  was  plainer  yet — as  to  one  on  whom  he  had  a 
more  than  ordinary  claim.  And  King  listened  for 
her  answer — surely  he  would  know  her  voice  if  she 
spoke?  One  may  distrust  the  evidence  of  one's 
eyes  when  it  comes  to  a  matter  of  identity,  but 
one's  ears  are  not  to  be  deceived. 

But  King's  ears,  stretched  though  they  might  be, 
metaphorically  speaking,  like  those  of  a  mule,  tc 
catch  the  sound  of  that  voice,  caught  nothing.  She 
replied  to  the  young  man  on  the  front  seat  only  by 
a  nod  and  a  smile.  Then,  as  the  chauffeur  began 
to  fold  up  his  road  map,  thanking  Burns  for  his 
careful  directions,  and  both  cars  were  on  the  point 
of  starting,  the  object  of  King's  heart-arresting 


EXPERT  DIAGNOSIS  149 

scrutiny  looked  at  him  once  again.  Her  straight 
gaze,  out  of  such  eyes  as  he  had  never  seen  but  on 
those  two  occasions,  met  his  without  flinching — 
a  long,  steady,  level  look,  which  lasted  until,  under 
Burns's  impatient  hand,  the  smaller  car  got  under 
motion  and  began  to  move.  Even  then,  though  she 
had  to  turn  her  head  a  little,  she  let  him  hold  her  gaze 
— as,  of  course,  he  was  nothing  loath  to  do,  being 
intensely  and  increasingly  stirred  by  the  encounter 
with  its  baffling  hint  of  mystery.  Indeed,  she  let 
him  hold  that  gaze  until  it  was  not  possible  for  her 
longer  to  maintain  her  share  of  the  exchange  with 
out  twisting  about  in  the  car.  As  for  King,  he  did 
not  scruple  to  twist,  as  far  as  his  back  would  let 
him,  until  he  had  lost  those  eyes  from  his  view. 


CHAPTER  IX 
JORDAN  IS  A  MAN 

WHEN  King  turned  back  again  to  face  the 
front  his  heart  was  thumping  prodig 
iously.  Almost  he  was  certain  it  had 
been  Anne  Linton;  yet  the  explanation — if  there 
were  one — was  not  to  be  imagined.  And  if  it  had 
been  Anne  Linton,  why  should  she  have  refused 
to  know  him?  There  could  have  been  little  diffi 
culty  for  her  in  identifying  him,  even  though  she 
had  seen  him  last  lying  flat  on  his  back  on  a  hos 
pital  bed.  And  if  there  had  been  a  chance  of  her 
not  knowing  him — there  was  Red  Pepper. 

It  was  Anne.  It  could  not  be  Anne.  Between 
these  two  convictions  King's  head  was  whirling. 
Whoever  it  was,  she  had  dared  to  look  straight  into 
his  eyes  in  broad  daylight  at  a  distance  of  not  more 
than  four  feet.  He  had  seen  into  the  very  depths 
of  her  own  bewildering  beauty,  and  the  encounter, 
always  supposing  her  to  be  the  person  of  whom  he 
had  thought  continuously  for  four  months,  was  a 
thing  to  keep  him  thinking  about  her  whether  he 
would  or  no. 

JJO 


JORDAN  IS  A  MAN  151 

"Anything  wrong  ?"  asked  Burns's  voice  in  its  cool 
est  tones.  "I  suspect  I  was  something  of  an  idiot 
to  give  you  such  a  big  dose  of  this  at  the  first  trial.'* 

"I'm  all  right,  thank  you."  And  King  sat  up 
very  straight  in  the  car  to  prove  it.  Nevertheless, 
when  he  was  at  home  again  he  was  not  sorry  to  be 
peremptorily  ordered  to  lie  supine  on  his  back  for 
at  least  three  hours. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  King  was  able  to 
bring  about  the  thing  he  most  desired — a  talk  with 
Mrs.  Burns.  She  came  to  see  him  one  July  day,  at 
his  request,  at  an  hour  when  he  knew  his  mother 
must  be  away.  With  her  he  went  straight  to  his 
point;  the  moment  the  first  greetings  were  over  and 
he  had  been  congratulated  on  his  ability  to  spend 
a  few  hours  ~ach  day  at  his  desk,  he  began  upon 
the  subject  uppermost  in  his  thoughts.  He  told 
her  the  story  of  his  encounter  with  the  girl  in  the 
car,  and  asked  her  if  she  thought  it  could  have  been 
Miss  Linton. 

She  looked  at  him  musingly.  "Do  you  prefer  to 
think  it  was  or  was  not?"  she  asked. 

"Are  you  going  to  answer  accordingly?" 

"Not  at  all.  I  was  wondering  which  I  wanted  to 
think  myself.  I  wish  I  had  been  with  you.  I  should 
have  known." 

"Would  you?"  King  spoke  eageriv.  "Would 
vou  mind  telling  me  how  ? " 


152          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"I  can't  tell  you  how.  Of  course  I  came  to  know 
her  looks  much  better  than  you;  it  really  isn't 
strange  that  after  seeing  her  only  twice  you 
couldn't  be  sure.  I  don't  think  any  change  of  dress 
or  environment  could  have  hidden  her  from  me. 
The  question  is,  of  course,  why — if  it  was  she — she 
should  have  chosen  not  to  seem  to  know  you' — 
unless 

"Yes " 

She  looked  straight  at  him.  "Unless — she  is  not 
the  poor  girl  she  seemed  to  be.  And  that  explana 
tion  doesn't  appeal  to  me.  I  have  known  of  poor 
girls  pretending  to  be  rich,  but  I  have  never,  out 
side  of  a  sensational  novel,  known  a  rich  girl  to 
pretend  to  be  poor,  unless  for  a  visit  to  a  poor 
quarter  for  charitable  purposes.  What  possible  ob 
ject  could  there  be  in  a  girl's  going  about  selling 
books  unless  she  needed  to  do  it?  And  she  allowed 

me "  She  stopped,  shaking  her  head.  "No, 

Jordan,  that  was  not  our  little  friend — or  if  it  was, 
she  was  in  that  car  by  some  curious  chance,  not  be 
cause  she  belonged  there." 

"So  you're  going  on  trusting  her?"  was  King's 
abstract  of  these  reflections.  He  scanned  her 
closely. 

She  nodded.  "Until  I  have  stronger  proof  to  the 
contrary  than  your  looking  into  a  pair  of  beautiful 
eyes.  Have  you  never  observed,  my  friend,  how 


JORDAN  IS  A  MAN  153 

many  pairs  of  beautiful  eyes  there  are  in  the 
world?" 

He  shook  his  head.  "I  haven't  bothered  much 
about  them,  except  now  and  then  for  a  bit  of  non 
sense  making." 

"But  this  pair  you,  too,  are  going  to  go  on 
trusting?" 

"I  am.  If  that  girl  was  Miss  Linton  she  had  a 
reason  for  not  speaking.  If  it  wasn't" — he  drew  a 
deep  breath — "well,  I  don't  know  exactly  how  to 
explain  that!" 

"I  do,"  said  Ellen  Burns,  smiling.  "She thought 
she  would  never  see  you  again,  and  she  yielded  to  a 
girlish  desire  to  look  hard  at — a  real  man." 

It  was  this  speech  which,  in  spite  of  himself,  lin 
gered  in  King's  mind  after  she  was  gone,  for  the 
balm  there  was  in  it — a  balm  she  had  perfectly 
understood  and  meant  to  put  there.  Well  she 
guessed  what  his  disablement  meant  to  him — in 
spite  of  the  hope  of  complete  recovery — how  little 
he  seemed  to  himself  like  the  man  he  was  before. 

Certainly  it  was  nothing  short  of  real  manhood 
which  prompted  the  talk  he  had  with  his  mother 
one  day  not  long  after  this.  She  brought  him  a 
letter,  and  she  was  scrutinizing  it  closely  as  she 
came  toward  him.  He  was  fathoms  deep  in  his 
work  and  did  not  observe  her  until  she  spoke. 

"Whom  can  you  possibly  have  as  a  correspond- 


154         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

ent  in  this  town,  my  son?"  she  inquired,  her  eyes 
upon  the  postmark,  which  was  that  of  a  small  city 
a  hundred  miles  away.  It  was  one  in  which  lived 
an  old  school  friend  of  whom  she  had  never  spoken, 
to  her  recollection,  in  King's  hearing,  for  the  rea 
son  that  the  family  had  since  suffered  deep  disgrace 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  she  had  been  inex 
pressibly  shocked  thereby.  ( 

King  looked  up.  He  was  always  hoping  for  a 
word  from  Anne  Linton,  and  now,  suddenly,  it  had 
come,  just  a  week  after  the  encounter  with  the  girl 
in  the  car — which  had  been  going,  as  it  happened, 
in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  city  of  the  post 
mark.  He  recognized  instantly  the  handwriting 
upon  the  plain,  white  business  envelope — an  inter 
esting  handwriting,  clear  and  black,  without  a  sin 
gle  feminine  flourish.  He  took  the  letter  in  his  hand 
and  studied  it. 

"  It  is  from  Miss  Linton,"  he  said,  "  and  I  am  very 
glad  to  hear  from  her.  It  is  the  first  time  she  has 
written  since  she  went  away — over  two  months  ago." 

He  spoke  precisely  as  he  would  have  spoken  if 
it  had  been  a  letter  from  any  friend  he  had.  It  was 
like  him  to  do  this,  and  the  surer  another  man 
would  have  been  to  try  to  conceal  his  interest  in 
the  letter  the  surer  was  Jordan  King  to  proclaim  it. 
The  very  fact  that  this  announcement  was  certain 
to  rouse  his  mother's  suspicion  that  the  affair  was 


JORDAN  IS  A  MAN  155 

}f  moment  to  him  was  enough  to  make  him  tell  her 
frankly  that  she  was  quite  right. 

He  laid  the  letter  on  the  desk  before  him  un 
opened,  and  went  on  with  his  work.  Mrs.  King 
stood  still  and  looked  at  him  a  moment  before  mov 
ing  quietly  away,  and  disturbance  was  written  upon 
her  face.  She  knew  her  son's  habit  of  finishing 
one  thing  before  he  took  up  another,  but  she  under 
stood  also  that  he  wished  to  be  alone  when  he  should 
read  this  letter.  She  left  the  room,  but  soon  after 
ward  she  softly  passed  the  open  door,  and  she  saw 
that  the  letter  lay  open  before  him  and  that  his  head 
was  bent  over  it.  The  words  before  him  were  these: 

DEAR  MR.  KING: 

I  had  not  meant  to  write  to  you  for  much  longer  than 
this,  but  I  find  myself  so  anxious  to  know  how  you  are  that 
I  am  yielding  to  the  temptation.  I  may  as  well  confess  that 
I  am  just  a  little  lonely  to-night,  in  spite  of  having  had  a  pretty 
good  day  with  the  little  book — rather  better  than  usual. 
Sometimes  I  almost  wish  I  hadn't  spent  that  fortnight  with 
Mrs.  Burns,  I  find  myself  missing  her  so.  And  yet,  how  can 
one  be  sorry  for  any  happy  thing  that  comes  to  one?  As  I  look 
back  on  them  now,  though  I  am  well  and  strong  again,  those 
days  of  convalescence  in  the  hospital  stand  out  as  among  the 
happiest  in  my  life.  The  pleasant  people,  the  flowers,  the 
notes,  all  the  incidents  of  that  time,  not  the  least  among  them 
Franz's  music,  stay  in  my  memory  like  a  series  of  pictures. 

Do  you  care  to  tell  me  how  you  come  on?  If  so  you  may 
write  to  me,  care  of  general  delivery,  in  this  town,  at  any  time 
for  the  next  five  days.  I  shall  be  so  glad  to  hear. 

ANNE  LINTON. 


iS6          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

King  looked  up  as  his  mother  approached.  He 
folded  the  letter  and  put  it  into  his  pocket. 

"Mother,"  he  said,  "I  may  as  well  tell  you  some 
thing.  You  won't  approve  of  it,  and  that  is  why  I 
must  tell  you.  From  the  hour  I  first  saw  Miss 
Linton  I've  been  unable  to  forget  her.  I  know, 
by  every  sign,  that  she  is  all  she  seems  to  be.  I 
can't  let  her  go  out  of  my  life  without  an  effort  to 
keep  her.  I'm  going  to  keep  her,  if  I  can." 

Two  hours  later  R.  P.  Burns,  M.D.,  was  sum 
moned  to  the  bedside  of  Mrs.  Alexander  King.  He 
sat  down  beside  the  limp  form,  felt  the  pulse,  laid 
his  hand  upon  the  shaking  shoulder  of  the  prostrate 
lady,  who  had  gone  down  before  her  son's  decision, 
gentle  though  his  manner  with  her  had  been.  She 
had  argued,  prayed,  entreated,  wept,  but  she  had 
not  been  able  to  shake  his  purpose.  Now  she  was 
reaping  the  consequences  of  her  agitation. 

"My  son,  my  only  boy,"  she  moaned  as  Burns 
asked  her  to  tell  him  her  trouble,  "after  all  these 
years  of  his  being  such  a  man,  to  change  suddenly 
into  a  willful  boy  again!  It's  inconceivable;  it's 
not  possible!  Doctor,  you  must  tell  him,  you  must 
argue  with  him.  He  can't  marry  this  girl,  he  can't! 
Why,  he  doesn't  even  know  the  place  she  comes 
from,  to  say  nothing  of  who  she  is — her  family,  her 
position  in  life.  She  must  be  a  common  sort  of  crea 
ture  to  follow  him  up  so;  you  know  she  must.  I 


JORDAN  IS  A  MAN  157 

can't  have  it;  I  will  not  have  it!  You  must  tell 
him  so!" 

Burns  considered.  There  was  a  curious  light  in 
his  eyes.  "My  dear  lady,"  he  said  gently  at  length, 
"Jordan  is  a  man;  you  can't  control  him.  He  is  a 
mighty  manly  man,  too — as  his  frankly  telling  you 
his  intention  proves.  Most  sons  would  have  kept 
their  plans  to  themselves,  and  simply  have  brought 
the  mother  home  her  new  daughter  some  day  with 
out  any  warning.  As  for  Miss  Linton,  I  assure  you 
she  is  a  lady — as  it  seems  to  me  you  must  have  seen 
for  yourself." 

"  She  is  clever;  she  could  act  the  part  of  a  lady,  no 
doubt,"  moaned  the  one  who  possessed  a  clear  title 
to  that  form  of  address.  "  But  she  might  be  any 
thing.  Why  didn't  she  tell  you  something  of  her 
self?  Jordan  could  not  say  that  you  knew  the  least 
thing  about  her.  People  with  fine  family  records 
are  not  so  mysterious.  There  is  something  wrong 
about  her — I  know  it — I  know  it!  Oh,  I  can't  have 
it  so;  I  can't!  You  must  stop  it,  Doctor;  you 
must ! " 

"She  spent  two  weeks  in  our  home,"  Burns  said. 
"During  that  time  there  was  no  test  she  did  not 
stand.  Come,  Mrs.  King,  you  know  that  it  doesn't 
take  long  to  discover  the  flaw  in  any  metal.  She 
rang  true  at  every  touch.  She's  a  girl  of  education, 
vf  refinement — why,  Ellen  came  to  feel  plenty  oC 


'i58          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

real  affection  for  her  before  she  left  us,  and  you 
know  that  means  a  good  deal.  As  for  the  mystery 
about  her,  what's  that?  Most  people  talk  too 
much  about  their  affairs.  If,  as  we  think,  she  has 
been  brought  up  in  circumstances  very  different 
from  these  we  find  her  in,  it  isn't  strange  that  she 
doesn't  want  to  tell  us  all  about  the  change." 

But  his  patient  continued  to  moan,  and  he  could 
give  her  no  consolation.  For  a  time  he  sat  quietly 
beside  the  couch  where  lay  the  long  and  slender 
form,  and  he  was  thinking  things  over.  The  room 
was  veiled  in  a  half  twilight,  partly  the  effect  of 
closing  day  and  partly  that  of  drawn  shades.  The 
deep  and  sobbing  breaths  continued  until  sud 
denly  Burns's  hand  was  laid  firmly  upon  the  hand 
which  clutched  a  handkerchief  wet  with  many 
tears.  He  spoke  now  in  a  new  tone,  one  she  had 
never  before  heard  from  him  addressed  to  her 
self: 

"This,'*  he  said,  "isn't  worthy  of  you,  my 
friend." 

It  was  as  if  her  breath  were  temporarily  sus 
pended  while  she  listened.  People  were  not  accus 
tomed  to  tell  Mrs.  Alexander  King  that  her  course 
of  action  was  unworthy  of  her. 

"No  man  or  woman  has  a  right  to  dictate  to 
another  what  he  shall  do,  provided  the  thing  con 
templated  is  not  an  offense  against  another.  You 


JORDAN  IS  A  MAN  159 

have  no  right  to  set  your  will  against  your  son's 
when  it  is  a  matter  of  his  life's  happiness." 

She  seized  on  this  last  phrase.  "  But  that's  why 
J  do  oppose  him.  I  want  him  to  be  happy- 
heaven  knows  I  do!  He  can't  be  happy — this 
way." 

"How  do  you  know  that?  You  don't  know  it. 
You  are  just  as  likely  to  make  him  bitterly  un 
happy  by  opposing  him  as  by  letting  him  alone. 
And  I  can  tell  you  one  thing  surely,  Mrs.  King: 
Jordan  will  do  as  he  wishes  in  spite  of  you,  and  all 
you  will  gain  by  opposition  will  be  not  a  gain,  but 
a  sacrifice — of  his  love." 

She  shivered.  "How  can  you  think  he  will  be  so 
selfish?" 

Burns  had  some  ado  to  keep  his  rising  temper 
down.  "Selfish — to  marry  the  woman  he  wants 
instead  of  the  woman  you  want?  That's  an  old, 
old  argument  of  selfish  mothers." 

The  figure  on  the  couch  stiffened.  "Doctor 
Burns!  How  can  you  speak  so,  when  all  I  ask  for 
is  my  son's  best  good?"  The  words  ended  in  a 
wail. 

"You  think  you  do,  dear  lady.  What  you 
really  want  is — your  own  way." 

Suddenly  she  sat  up,  staring  at  him.  His  clear 
gaze  met  her  clouded  one,  his  sane  glance  con 
fronted  her  wild  one.  She  lifted  her  shaking  hand 


i6o         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

svith  a  gesture  of  dismissal.  But  there  was  a  new 
experience  in  store  for  Jordan  King's  mother. 

Burns  leaned  forward,  and  took  the  delicate  hand 
of  his  hysterical  patient  in  his  own. 

"No,  no,"  he  said,  smiling,  "you  don't  mean 
that;  you  are  not  quite  yourself.  I  am  Jordan's 
friend  and  yours.  I  have  said  harsh  things  to  you; 
it  was  the  only  way.  I  love  your  boy  as  I  would  a 
younger  brother,  and  I  want  you  to  keep  him  be 
cause  I  can  understand  what  the  loss  of  him  would 
mean  to  you.  But  you  must  know  that  you  can't 
tie  a  man's  heart  to  you  with  angry  commands,  nor 
with  tears  and  reproaches.  You  can  tie  it — tight 
—by  showing  sympathy  and  understanding  in  this 
crisis  of  his  life.  Believe  me,  I  know." 

His  tone  was  very  winning;  his  manner — now 
that  he  had  said  his  say — though  firm,  was  gentle, 
and  he  held  her  hand  in  a  way  that  did  much  to 
ward  quieting  her.  Many  patients  in  danger  of 
losing  self-control  had  known  the  strengthening, 
soothing  touch  of  that  strong  hand.  Red  Pepper 
was  not  accustomed  to  misuse  this  power  of  his, 
which  came  very  near  being  hypnotic,  but  neither 
did  he  hesitate  to  use  it  when  the  occasion  called 
as  loudly  as  did  this  one. 

And  presently  Mrs.  King  was  lying  quietly  on 
her  couch  again,  her  eyes  closed,  the  beating  of  her 
agitated  pulses  slowly  quieting.  And  Burns,  bend-^ 


JORDAN  IS  A  MAN  161 

ing  close,  was  saying  before  he  left  her:  "That's  a 
brave  woman.  Ladies  are  lovely  things,  but  I  re 
spect  women  more.  Only  a  mighty  fine  one  could 
be  the  mother  of  my  friend  Jord,  and  I  knew  she 
would  meet  this  issue  like  the  Spartan  she  knows 
how  to  be." 

If,  as  he  stole  away  downstairs — leaving  his  pa 
tient  in  the  hands  of  a  somewhat  long-suffering 
maid — he  was  saying  to  himself  things  of  a  quite 
different  sort,  let  him  not  be  blamed  for  insincer 
ity.  He  had  at  the  last  used  the  one  stimulant 
against  which  most  of  us  are  powerless :  the  call  to 
be  that  which  we  believe  another  thinks  us. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE 

CJ,  I've  something  great  to  tell  you,"  an 
nounced  Red  Pepper  Burns,  one  evening 
in  August,  as  he  came  out  from  his  office 
where  he  had  been  seeing  a  late  patient,  and  joined 
his  wife,  who  was  wandering  about  her  garden  in 
the  twilight.  "To-day  I've  had  the  compl  ment  of 
my  life.  Whom  do  you  think  I'm  to  operate  on  day 
after  to-morrow?" 

She  looked  up  at  him  as  he  stood,  his  hands  in 
his  pockets,  looking  down  at  her.  In  her  sheer 
white  frock,  through  which  gleamed  her  neck  and 
arms,  her  hands  full  of  pink  and  white  snapdragon, 
she  was  worth  consideration.  Her  eyes  searched 
his  face  and  found  there  a  curious  exultation  of  a 
very  human  sort.  "How  could  I  guess  ?  Tell  me." 

"Who  should  you  say  was  the  very  last  man 
on  earth  to  do  me  the  honour  of  trusting  me  in  a 
serious  emergency?" 

She  turned  away  her  head,  gazing  down  at  a  fra 
grant  border  of  mignonette,  while  he  watched  her, 
a  smile  on  his  lips.  She  looked  up  again.  "I  can't 

162 


THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE      163 

think,  Red.  It  seems  to  me  everybody  trusts 
you." 

"Not  by  a  long  shot,  or  the  rest  of  the  profes 
sion  would  stand  idle.  But  there's  one  man  who 
I  should  have  said,  to  use  a  time-honoured  phrase, 
wouldn't  let  me  operate  on  a  sick  cat.  And  he's 
the  man  who  is  going  to  put  his  life  in  my  hands 
Wednesday  morning  at  ten  o'clock.  Len,  if  I  am 
ever  on  my  mettle  to  do  a  perfect  job,  it'll  be 
then!" 

"Of  course.     But  who " 

"I  should  think  the  name  would  leap  to  your 
lips.  Who's  mine  ancient  enemy,  the  man  who  has 
fought  me  by  politely  sneering  at  me,  and  circum 
venting  me  when  he  could,  ever  since  I  began 
practice,  and  whom  I've  fought  back  in  my  way? 
Why,  Len- 

Her  dark  eyes  grew  wide.  "  Red !  Not — Doctor 
Van  Horn?" 

"Even  so." 

"Oh,  Red!  That  is  a  compliment — and  more 
than  a  compliment.  But  I  should  never  have 
thought  of  him  somehow  because,  I  suppose 

"Because  nobody  ever  thinks  of  a  doctor's  being 
sick  or  needing  an  operation.  But  doctors  do — 
sometimes — and  usually  pretty  badly,  too,  before 
they  will  submit  to  it.  Van  Horn's  in  dreadful 
shape,  and  has  been  keeping  it  dark — until  it's  got 


164          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

the  upper  hand  of  him  completely.  Mighty  plucky 
the  way  he's  been  going  on  with  his  work,  with 
trouble  gnawing  at  his  vitals." 

"How  did  he  come  to  call  you?" 

"That's  what  I'm  wondering.  But  call  me  he 
did,  yesterday,  and  I've  seen  him  twice  since.  And 
when  I  told  him  what  had  to  be  done  he  took  it  like 
a  soldier  without  wincing.  But  when  he  said  he 
wanted  me  to  do  the  trick  you  could  have  knocked 
me  down  with  a  lead  pencil.  My  word,  Len,  I  have 
been  doing  Van  an  injustice  all  these  years!  The 
real  stuff  is  in  him,  after  all,  and  plenty  of  it, 
too." 

"It  is  he  who  has  done  you  the  injustice,"  Ellen 
said  with  a  little  lift  of  the  head. 

"I  know  I  have  given  you  reason  to  think  so — 
the  times  I've  come  home  raving  mad  at  some  cut 
of  his.  But,  Len,  that's  all  past  and  he  wipes  it  out 
by  trusting  me  now.  The  biggest  thing  I've  had 
against  him  was  not  his  knifing  me  but  his  ap 
parent  toadying  to  the  rich  and  influential.  But 
there's  another  side  to  that  and  I  see  it  now.  Some 
people  have  to  be  coddled,  and  though  it  goes 
against  my  grain  to  do  it,  I  don't  know  why  a  man 
who  can  be  diplomatic  and  winning,  like  Van  Horn, 
hasn't  his  place  just  as  much  as  a  rough  rider  like 
me.  Anyhow,  the  thing  now  is  to  pull  him  through 
bis  operation,  and  if  I  can  do  it — well,  Van  and  I 


THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE      165 

will  be  on  a  new  basis,  and  a  mighty  comfortable 
one  it  will  be." 

His  voice  was  eager  and  his  wife  understood  just 
how  his  pulses  were  thrilling,  as  do  those  of  the 
born  surgeon,  at  the  approach  of  a  great  oppor 
tunity. 

"I'm  very,  very  glad,  dear,"  Ellen  said  warmly. 
"It's  a  real  triumph  of  faith  over  jealousy,  and  I 
don't  wonder  you  are  proud  of  such  a  commission. 
I  know  you  will  bring  him  through." 

"  If  I  don't — but  that's  not  to  be  thought  of.  It's 
a  case  that  calls  for  extremely  delicate  surgery  and 
a  sure  hand,  but  the  ground  is  plainly  mapped  out 
and  only  some  absolutely  unforeseen  complication  is 
to  be  dreaded.  And  when  it  comes  to  those  com 
plications—well,  Len,  sometimes  I  think  it  must  be 
the  good  Lord  who  works  a  man's  brain  for  him  at 
such  crises,  and  makes  it  pretty  nearly  super 
human.  It's  hard  to  account  any  other  way, 
sometimes,  for  the  success  of  the  quick  decisions 
you  make  under  necessity  that  would  take  a  lot  of 
time  to  work  out  if  you  had  the  time.  Oh,  it's  a 
great  game,  Len,  no  doubt  of  that — when  you  win. 
And  when  you  lose" — he  stopped  short,  staring 
into  the  shadows  where  a  row  of  dark-leaved 
laurel  bushes  shut  away  the  garden  in  a  soft 
seclusion — "well,  that's  another  story,  a  heart 
breaking  story." 


166          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

He  was  silent  for  a  minute,  then,  in  another  tone, 
he  spoke  confidently:  "But — this  isn't  going  to  be 
a  story  of  that  kind.  Van  Horn  has  a  big  place  in 
the  city  and  he's  going  to  keep  it.  And  I'm  going 
to  spend  the  rest  of  this  evening  making  a  bit  of  a 
tool  I've  had  in  mind  for  some  time — that  there's  a 
remote  chance  I  shall  need  in  this  case.  But  if 
that  remote  chance  should  come — well,  there's 
nothing  like  a  state  of  preparedness,  as  the  military 
men  say." 

"That's  why  you  succeed,  Red;  you  always  are 
prepared." 

"Not  always.  And  it's  in  the  emergency  you 
can't  foresee  that  heaven  comes  to  the  rescue.  You 
can't  expect  it  to  come  to  the  rescue  when  you 
might  have  foreseen.  'Trust  the  Lord  and  keep 
your  powder  dry'  is  a  pretty  good  maxim  for  tbe 
surgical  firing  line,  too — eh  ? " 

With  his  arm  through  his  wife's  he  paced  several 
times  up  and  down  the  flowery  borders,  then  went 
away  into  the  small  laboratory  and  machine  shop 
where  he  was  accustomed  to  do  much  of  the  work 
which  showed  only  in  its  final  results.  Through  the 
rest  of  the  hot  August  evening,  his  attire  stripped 
to  the  lowest  terms  compatible  with  possible  un 
expected  visitors,  he  laboured  with  all  the  en 
thusiasm  characteristic  of  him  at  tasks  which  to 
another  mind  would  have  been  drudgery  indeed. 


THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE      167 

To  him,  at  about  ten  o'clock,  came  his  neigh 
bour  and  friend,  Arthur  Chester.  Standing  with 
arms  on  the  sill  outside  of  the  lighted  window,  clad 
in  summer  vestments  of  white  and  looking  as  cool 
and  fresh  as  the  man  inside  looked  hot  and  dirty, 
Chester  attempted  to  lure  the  worker  forth. 

"Win's  serving  a  lot  of  cold,  wet  stuff  on  our 
porch,"  he  announced.  "Ellen's  there,  and  the 
Macauleys,  and  Jord  King  has  just  driven  up  and 
stopped  for  a  minute.  He's  got  Aleck  with  him 
and  he's  pleased  as  Punch  because  he's  rigged  a 
contrivance  so  that  Aleck  can  drive  himself  with 
one  hand.  What  do  you  think  of  that?" 

"Good  work,"  replied  Burns  absently  after  a 
minute,  during  which  he  tested  a  steel  edge  with  an 
experimental  finger  and  shook  his  head  at  it. 

"Did  you  expect  Jord  to  keep  Aleck,  when 
he's  got  to  have  another  man  besides  for  the  things 
Aleck  can't  do  now?" 

Burns  nodded.    "Expect  anything — of  him." 

"Put  down  that  murderous-looking  thing  and 
come  along  over.  Ellen  said  you  were  here,  and 
Win  sent  word  to  you  not  to  bother  to  change  your 
clothes." 

"Thanks— I  won't." 

"Won't  bother — or  won't  come?" 

"Both." 

Chester  sighed.      "Do  vou  know  what  you  re- 


168          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

mind  me  of  when  you  get  in  this  holeof  aworkshop; 
A  bull  pup  with  his  teeth  in  something,  and  only 
growls  issuing." 

"Better  keep  away  then." 

"I  suppose  that's  a  hint — a  bull-pup  hint." 

Silence  from  inside,  while  the  worker  stirred 
something  boiling  over  a  flame,  poured  a  dark  fluid 
from  one  retort  into  another,  dropped  in  a  drop  or 
two  of  something  from  a  small  vial  inflammatorily 
labelled,  and  started  an  electric  motor  in  a  corner. 
Chester  could  see  the  shine  of  perspiration  on  the 
smooth  brow  below  the  coppery  hair,  and  drops 
standing  like  dew  on  the  broad  white  chest  from 
which  the  open  shirt  was  turned  widely  back. 

"It  must  be  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  Fah 
renheit  in  there,"  he  commented.  Burns  grunted 
an  assent.  "It's  only  eighty-four  on  our  porch, 
and  growing  cooler  every  minute.  The  things 
we  have  to  drink  are  just  above  thirty-two,  right 
off  the  ice."  Chester's  words  were  carefully 
chosen. 

"Dangerous  extremes.  But  I  wouldn't  mind 
having  a  pint  or  two  of  something  cold.  Go,  bring 
it  to  me." 

"Well,  I  like  that." 

"So'llI,  I  hope." 

Chester  laughed  and  strolled  away.  When  he 
returned  he  carried  a  b>'°;  crystal  pitcher  filled  with 


THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE      169 

a  pleasantly  frothing  home-made  amber  brew  in 
which  ice  tinkled.  With  him  came  Jordan  King. 
Chester  shoved  aside  the  screen  and  pushed  the 
pitcher  inside,  accompanied  by  a  glass  which  Wini 
fred  had  insisted  on  sending. 

Burns  caught  up  the  pitcher,  drank  thirstily, 
drew  his  arm  across  his  mouth  and  grinned  through 
the  window,  meeting  Jordan  King's  smiling  gaze  in 
return. 

"Company  manners  don't  go  when  your  hands 
are  black,  eh?"  remarked  the  man  inside. 

"Mechanics  and  surgeons  seem  a  good  deal  alike 
at  times,"  was  the  laughing  reply. 

"Can't  tell  'em  apart.  Your  lily-handed  sur 
geon  is  an  anomaly.  I  hear  Aleck  came  out  under 
his  own  steam  to-night.  How  does  it  go?" 

"  First  rate.  It  was  great  fun.  He's  like  a  boiling 
kettle  full  of  steam,  with  the  lid  off  just  in  time." 

"Good.  Be  on  your  guard  when  he's  driving, 
though,  for  a  while.  Don't  let  him  stay  at  the 
wheel  down  Devil's  Hill  just  yet." 

"Why  not?  He  has  absolute  control  the  way 
I've  fixed  it.  You  see  the  spark  and  gas  are  right 
where — 

"I  don't  want  you  to  take  one  chance  in  a  mil 
lion  on  that  back  of  yours  yet.  See  ?  Or  do  I  have 
to  drive  that  order  in  and  spike  it  down?" 

"He  seems  to  have  a  lot  of  conversation  in  him 


i7o         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

— for  you,"  observed  Chester  to  King  as  the  two 
outside  laughed  at  this  explosion  from  within. 

"Such  as  it  is/'  replied  King  with  an  audacious 
wink.  "I  thought  I'd  got  about  through  taking 
orders." 

"I'll  give  you  both  two  minutes  to  clear  out," 
came  from  inside  the  window  as  Burns  caught  up  a 
piece  of  steel  and  began  narrowly  to  examine  it. 
Over  it  he  looked  at  Jordan  King,  and  the  two  ex 
changed  a  glance  which  spoke  of  complete  under 
standing.  "Come  again,  boy,"  Burns  said  with  a 
sudden  flashing  smile  at  his  friend. 

"I  will — day  after  to-morrow  in  the  afternoon,** 
King  returned,  and  his  eyes  held  Burns's. 

"What?     Do  you  know?" 

King  nodded,  with  a  look  of  pride.  "You  bet 
I  do." 

"Who  told  you?" 

"Himself." 

"Didn't  know  you  knew  him  well  enough  for 
that." 

"Oh,  yes,  through  mother;  they're  old  friends. 
She  sent  me  to  see  him  for  her." 

"I  see.     Well,  wish  me  luck!" 

"I  wish  you — your  own  skill  at  its  highest 
power,"  said  Jordan  King  fervently. 

"Thanks,  youngster,"  was  Burns's  answer,  and 
this  time  there  was  no  smile  on  the  face  which  lie 


THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE      171 

lifted  again  for  an  instant  from  above  the  tiny  piece 
of  steel  which  held  in  it  such  potentialities — in  his 
hands. 

"You  seem  to  have  got  farther  in  under  his  skin 
than  the  rest  of  us,"  observed  Chester  to  King  as 
they  walked  slowly  away.  There  was  a  touch  of 
unconscious  jealousy  in  his  tone.  He  had  known 
R.  P.  Burns  a  long  while  before  Jordan  King  had 
reached  man's  estate.  "I  never  knew  him  to  say  a 
word  about  a  coming  operation  before." 

"He  didn't  say  it  now;  I  happened  to  know. 
Come  out  and  see  the  rigging  we've  put  on  the 
car  so  Aleck  can  work  everything  with  one  hand 
and  two  feet." 

"And  a  few  brains,  I  should  say,"  Chester  sup 
plemented. 

IThough  Burns  had  plenty  of  other  work  to  keep 
him  busy  during  the  interval  before  he  should  lay 
hands  upon  Doctor  Van  Horn,  his  mind  was  seldom 
off  his  coming  task.  In  spite  of  all  that  Ellen 
knew  of  the  past  antagonism  between  the  two  men 
she  was  in  possession  of  but  comparatively  few  of 
the  facts.  Except  where  his  fiery  temper  had  en 
tirely  overcome  him  Burns  had  been  silent  con 
cerning  the  many  causes  he  had  had  to  dislike  and 
distrust  the  older  man. 

As  what  is  called  "a  fashionable  physician," 


172          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

having  for  his  patients  few  outside  of  the  wealthy 
class,  Dr.  James  Van  Horn  had  occupied  a  field  of 
practice  entirely  different  from  that  of  R.  P.  Burns. 
Though  Burns  numbered  on  his  list  many  of  the 
city's  best  known  and  most  prosperous  citizens,  he 
held  them  by  virtue  of  a  manner  of  address  and  a 
system  of  treatment  differing  in  no  wise  from  that 
which  he  employed  upon  the  poorest  and  humblest 
who  came  to  him.  If  people  liked  him  it  was 
for  no  blandishments  of  his,  only  for  his  sturdy 
manliness,  his  absolute  honesty,  and  a  certain  not 
unattractive  bluntness  of  speech  whose  humour 
often  atoned  for  its  thrust. 

As  for  his  skill,  there  was  no  question  that  it 
ranked  higher  than  that  of  his  special  rival.  As  for 
his  success,  it  had  steadily  increased.  And,  as  all 
who  knew  him  could  testify,  when  it  came  to  that 
"last  ditch"  in  which  lay  a  human  being  fighting 
for  his  life,  Burns's  reputation  for  standing  by, 
sleeves  rolled  up  and  body  stiff  with  resistance  of 
the  threatening  evil,  was  such  that  there  was  no 
man  to  compete  with  him. 

It  was  inevitable  that  in  a  city  of  the  moderate 
size  of  that  in  which  these  two  men  practised  there 
should  arise  situations  which  sometimes  brought 
about  a  clash  between  them.  The  patient  of  one, 
having  arrived  at  serious  straits,  often  called  for  a 
consultation  with  the  other.  The  very  professional 


THE  SURGICAL  FIRING  LINE      173 

bearing  and  methods  of  the  two  were  so  different, 
strive  though  they  might  to  adapt  themselves  to 
each  other  at  least  in  the  presence  of  the  patient, 
that  trouble  usually  began  at  once,  veiled  though  it 
might  be  under  the  stringencies  of  professional 
etiquette.  Later,  when  it  came  to  matters  of  life 
and  death,  these  men  were  sure  to  disagree  radi 
cally.  Van  Horn,  dignified  of  presence,  polished  of 
speech,  was  apt  to  impress  the  patient's  family 
with  his  wisdom,  his  restraint,  his  modestly  assured 
sense  of  the  fitness  of  his  own  methods  to  the  needs 
of  the  case;  while  Burns,  burning  with  indignation 
over  some  breach  of  faith  occasioned  by  his  senior's 
orders  in  his  absence,  or  other  indignity,  flaming 
still  more  hotly  over  being  forced  into  a  course 
which  he  believed  to  be  against  the  patient's  in 
terest,  was  likely  to  blurt  out  some  rough  speech  at 
a  moment  when  silence,  as  far  as  his  own  interests 
were  concerned,  would  have  been  more  discreet — 
and  then  would  come  rupture. 

Usually  those  most  concerned  never  guessed  at 
the  hidden  fires,  because  even  Burns,  under  bonds 
to  his  wife  to  restrain  himself  at  moments  of 
danger,  was  nearly  always  able  to  get  away  from 
such  scenes  without  open  outbreak.  But  more  than 
once  a  situation  had  developed  which  could  be 
handled  only  by  the  withdrawal  of  one  or  the  other 
physician  from  the  case — and  then,  whether  he 


174         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

went  or  stayed,  Burns  could  seldom  win  through 
without  showing  what  he  felt. 

Now,  however,  he  was  feeling  as  he  had  never 
dreamed  he  could  feel  toward  James  Van  Horn. 
The  way  in  which  the  man  was  facing  the  present 
crisis  in  his  life  called  for  Burns's  honest  and  un 
grudging  admiration.  With  that  same  cool  and  un- 
flurried  bearing  with  which  Van  Horn  was  accus 
tomed  to  hold  his  own  in  a  consultation  was  he  now 
awaiting  the  uncertain  issue  of  his  determination  to 
end,  in  one  way  or  the  other,  the  disability  under 
which  he  was  suffering. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE 

WHEN  Red  Pepper  Burns  visited  James 
Van  Horn,  at  the  hospital,  on  the  even 
ing  before  the  operation,  he  found  him 
lying  quietly  in  bed,  ready  for  the  night — and  the 
morning.     He    looked   up   and    smiled  the    same 
slightly  frosty  smile  Burns  knew  so  well,  but  which 
he  now  interpreted  differently.      As  he  sat  down 
by  the  bedside  the  younger  man's  heart  was  un 
believably  warm. 

He  looked  straight,  with  his  powerful  hazel  eyes 
slightly  veiled  by  a  contraction  of  the  eyelids,  into 
the  steady  gray  eyes  of  his  patient — his  patient — 
he  could  not  believe  it  yet.  He  laid  exploring 
fingers  upon  the  pulse  of  the  hand  he  had  just 
grasped. 

"If  they  were  all  like  you,"  he  said  gently,  "we 
should  have  better  chances  for  doing  our  best. 
How  do  you  manage  it,  Doctor?" 

"Temperament,  I  suppose,"  returned  the  other 
lightly.  "Or" — and  now  he  spoke  less  lightly— 
"belief — or  lack  of  it.  If  we  get  through — very 

1 75 


176          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

well;  I  shall  go  on  with  my  work.  If  we  don't  get 
through — that  ends  it.  I  have  no  belief  in  any 
hereafter,  as  you  may  know.  A  few  years  more  or 
less — what  does  it  matter?" 

Burns  studied  the  finely  chiselled  face  in  silence 
for  a  minute,  then  he  spoke  slowly:  "It  matters 
this  much — to  me.  If  by  a  chance,  a  slip,  a  lack  of 
skill,  I  should  put  an  end  to  a  life  which  would  never 
live  again,  I  could  not  bear  it." 

Van  Horn  smiled — and  somehow  the  smile  was 
not  frosty  at  all.  "I  am  trusting  you.  Your  hand 
won't  slip;  there  will  be  no  lack  of  skill.  If  you 
don't  pull  me  through,  it  will  be  because  destiny 
is  too  much  for  us.  To  be  honest,  I  don't  care 
how  it  comes  out.  And  yet,  that's  not  quite  true 
either.  I  do  care;  only  I  want  to  be  entirely  well 
again.  I  can't  go  on  as  I  have  gone." 

"You  shall  not.  We're  going  to  win;  I'm  con 
fident  of  it.  Only Doctor,  if  the  unforeseen 

should  happen  I  don't  want  you  to  go  out  of  this 
life  believing  there's  no  other.  Listen."  He 
pulled  out  a  notebook  and  searching,  found  a 
small  newspaper  clipping.  "A  big  New  York 
paper  the  other  day  printed  this  headline:  'Fell 
Eight  Stories  to  Death'  A  smaller  city  paper 
copied  it  with  this  ironical  comment:  'Headlines 
cannot  be  too  complete.  But  what  a  great  story  it 
would  have  been  if  he  had  fallen  eight  stories  to  life!9 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  177 

And  then  one  of  the  biggest  and  most  influential 
and  respected  newspapers  in  the  world  copied  both 
headlines  and  comment  and  gave  the  whole  thing 
a  fresh  title:  'Falls  to  Life — Immortal.'  Doctor — 
you  can't  afford  to  lie  to-night  where  you  do — and 
take  chances  on  that  last  thing's  not  being  true. 
The  greatest  minds  the  world  knows  believe  it  is 
true." 

A  silence  fell.  Then  Van  Horn  spoke:  "Burns, 
do  you  think  it's  wise  to  turn  a  patient's  thoughts 
into  this  channel  on  the  eve  of  a  crisis?" 

Burns  regarded  him  closely.  "Can  you  tell  me, 
Doctor,"  he  asked,  "that  your  thoughts  weren't 
already  in  that  channel?" 

"Suppose  they  were.  And  suppose  I  even  ad 
mitted  the  possibility  that  you  were  right — which, 
mind  you,  I  don't — what  use  is  it  to  argue  the 
question  at  this  late  hour?" 

"Because  the  hour  is  not  too  late.  If  you  want 
to  sleep  quietly  to-night  and  wake  fit  for  what's 
coming,  put  yourself  in  the  hands  of  the  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth  before  you  sleep.  Then,  whether 
there's  a  hereafter  or  not  won't  matter  for  you; 
you'll  leave  that  to  Him.  But  you'll  be  in 
His  hands — and  that's  the  only  place  it's  safe 
to  be." 

"Suppose  I  told  you  I  didn't  believe  in  any  such 
Being." 


178          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"I  should  tell  you  you  knew  better — and  knew  it 
with  every  fibre  of  you." 

The  two  pairs  of  eyes  steadily  regarded  each 
other.  In  Burns's  flamed  sincerity  and  conviction. 
In  Van  Horn's  grew  a  curious  sort  of  suffering.  He 
moved  restlessly  on  his  pillow. 

"If  I  had  known  you  were  a  fanatic  as  well  as  a 
fighter  I  might  have  hesitated  to  call  you,  even 
though  I  believe  in  you  as  a  surgeon,"  he  said 
somewhat  huskily. 

"It's  surgery  you're  getting  from  me  to-night, 
but  I  cut  to  cure.  A  mind  at  rest  will  help  you 
through  to-morrow." 

"Why  should  you  think  my  mind  isn't  at  rest? 
You  commended  me  for  my  quiet  mind  when  you 
came  in." 

"For  your  cool  control.  But  your  unhappy 
spirit  looked  out  of  your  eyes  at  me,  and  I've 
spoken  to  that.  I  couldn't  keep  silence.  Forgive 
me,  Doctor;  I'm  a  blunt  fellow,  as  you  have  reason 
to  know.  I  haven't  liked  you,  and  you  haven't 
liked  me.  We've  fought  each  other  all  along  the 
line.  But  your  calling  me  now  has  touched  me 
very  much,  and  I  find  myself  caring  tremendously 
to  give  you  the  best  I  have.  And  not  only  the  best 
my  hands  have  to  give  you,  but  the  best  of  my 
brain  and  heart.  And  that  belief  in  the  Almighty 
and  His  power  to  rule  this  world  and  other 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  179 

worlds  is  the  best  I  have.  I'd  like  to  give  it  to 
you." 

He  rose,  his  big  figure  towering  like  a  mountain 
of  strength  above  the  slender  form  in  the  bed. 

Van  Horn  stretched  up  his  hand  to  say  good 
night.  "I  know  you  thought  it  right  to  say  this  to 
me,  Burns,"  he  said,  "and  I  have  reason  to  know 
that  when  you  think  a  thing  is  right  you  don't 
hesitate  to  do  it.  I  like  your  frankness — betterthan 
I  seem  to.  I  trust  you  none  the  less  for  this  talk; 
perhaps  more.  Do  your  best  by  me  in  the  morn- 
.ing,  and  whatever  happens,  your  conscience  will  be 
free." 

Burns's  two  sinewy  hands  clasped  the  thin  but 
still  firm  one  of  Van  Horn.  "As  I  said  just  now, 
I've  never  wanted  more  to  do  my  best  than  for 
you,"  came  very  gently  from  his  lips.  "And  I  can 
tell  you  for  your  comfort  that  the  more  anxious  I 
am  to  do  good  work  the  surer  I  am  to  do  it.  I  don't 
know  why  it  should  be  so;  I've  heard  plenty  of  men 
say  it  worked  just  the  other  way  with  them.  Yes, 
I  do  know  why.  I  think  I'll  tell  you  the  explana 
tion.  The  more  anxious  I  am  the  harder  I  pray  to 
my  God  to  make  me  fit.  And  when  I  go  from  my 
knees  to  the  operating-room  I  feel  armed  to  the 
teeth." 

He  smiled,  a  brilliant,  heart-warming  smile,  and 
suddenly  he  looked,  to  the  man  on  the  bed  who 


i8o         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

gazed  at  him,  more  like  a  conqueror  than  any  on* 
he  had  ever  seen.  And  all  at  once  James  Van 
Horn  understood  why,  with  all  his  faults  of  temper 
and  speech,  his  patients  loved  and  clung  to  Red 
Pepper  Burns;  and  why  he,  Van  Horn  himself,  had 
not  been  able  to  defeat  Burns  as  a  rival.  There 
was  something  about  the  man  which  spoke  of 
power,  and  at  this  moment  it  seemed  clear,  even  to 
the  skeptic,  that  it  was  not  wholly  human  power. 

Burns  bent  over  the  bed.  "Good-night,  Doctor," 
he  said  softly,  almost  as  he  might  have  spoken  to  a 
child.  Then,  quite  as  he  might  have  spoken  to  a 
child,  he  added:  "Say  a  bit  of  a  prayer  before  you 
go  to  sleep.  It  won't  hurt  you,  and — who  knowr v 
— even  unbelieving,  you  may  get  an  answer." 

Van  Horn  smiled  up  at  him  wanly.  "Good 
night,  Doctor,"  he  replied.  "Thank  you  for  com- 
ing  in — whether  I  sleep  the  better  or  the  worse  for 
it." 

If  there  were  anything  of  the  fanatic  about  Red- 
field  Pepper  Burns — and  the  term  was  one  which 
no  human  being  but  Van  Horn  had  ever  applied  to 
him — it  was  the  fighting,  not  the  fasting,  side  of  his 
character  which  showed  uppermost  at  ten  next 
morning.  He  came  out  of  his  hospital  dressing- 
room  with  that  look  of  dogged  determination 
written  upon  brow  and  mouth  which  his  associates 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  181 

knew  well,  and  they  had  never  seen  it  written 
larger.  From  Doctor  Duller,  who  usually  gave  the 
anesthetics  in  Burns's  cases,  and  from  Miss 
Mathewson,  who  almost  invariably  worked  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  operating  table,  to  the 
newest  nurse  whose  only  mission  was  to  be  at  hand 
for  observation,  the  staff  more  or  less  acutely  sensed 
the  situation.  Not  one  of  those  who  had  been 
for  any  length  of  time  in  the  service  but  under 
stood  that  it  was  an  unusual  situation. 

That  James  Van  Horn  and  R.  P.  Burns  had  long 
been  conscious  or  unconscious  rivals  was  known  to 
everybody.  Van  Horn  was  not  popular  with  the 
hospital  staff,  while  Burns  might  have  ordered 
them  all  to  almost  any  deed  of  valour  and  have 
been  loyally  obeyed.  But  Van  Horn's  standing 
in  the  city  was  well  understood;  he  was  admired 
and  respected  as  the  most  imposing  and  influential 
figure  in  the  medical  profession  there  represented. 
He  held  many  posts  of  distinction,  not  only  in  the 
city,  but  in  the  state,  and  his  name  at  the  head  of 
an  article  in  any  professional  magazine  carried 
weight  and  authority.  And  that  he  should  have 
chosen  Burns,  rather  than  have  sent  abroad  for 
any  more  famous  surgeon,  was  to  be  considered  an 
extraordinary  honour  indicative  of  a  confidence  not 
to  have  been  expected. 

Altogether,  there  was  more  than  ordinary  tension 


182         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

observable  in  the  operating-room  just  before  the 
appointed  hour.  A  number  of  the  city's  surgeons 
were  present — Grayson,  Fields,  Lenhart,  Steven 
son — men  accustomed  to  see  Burns  at  work  and  to 
recognize  his  ability  as  unccmmon.  Not  that  they 
often  admitted  this  to  themselves  or  to  one  another, 
but  the  fact  remains  that  they  understood  pre 
cisely  why  Van  Horn,  if  he  chose  a  local  man  at  all 
— which  of  itself  had  surprised  them  very  much — 
had  selected  Burns.  Not  one  of  them,  no  matter 
how  personally  he  felt  antagonistic  to  this  most 
constantly  employed  member  of  the  profession,  but 
would  have  felt  safer  in  his  hands  in  such  a  crisis 
than  in  those  of  any  of  his  associates. 

Burns  held  a  brief  conference  with  Miss  Mathew- 
jon,  who  having  been  with  him  in  his  office  and  his 
operative  work  for  the  entire  twelve  years  of  his 
practice,  was  herself  all  but  a  surgeon  and  suited 
him  better  than  any  man,  with  her  deft  fingers 
and  sure  response  to  his  slightest  indication  of  in 
tention.  The  others  found  themselves  watching 
the  two  as  they  came  forward,  cool,  steady,  ready 
for  the  perfect  team  work  they  had  so  long  played. 
If  both  hearts  were  beating  a  degree  faster  than 
usual  there  was  nothing  to  show  it.  Nobody  knew 
what  had  passed  between  the  two.  If  they  had 
known  they  might  have  understood  why  they 
worked  so  perfectly  together. 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  183 

"You're  going  to  give  me  your  best  to-day,  Amy, 
eh?" 

"You  know  that,  Doctor  Burns." 

"Of  course  I  know  it.  But  I  want  a  little  better 
than  your  best.  This  is  one  of  the  cases  where 
every  second  is  going  to  count.  We  have  to  make 
all  the  speed  that's  in  us  without  a  slip.  I  can  trust 
you.  I  didn't  tell  you  before  because  I  didn't  want 
you  thinking  about  it.  But  I  tell  you  now  be 
cause  I've  got  to  have  the  speed.  All  right;  that's 
all." 

He  gave  her  one  quick  smile,  then  his  face  was 
set  and  stern  again,  as  always  at  this  moment,  for 
it  was  the  moment  when  he  caught  sight  of  his 
patient,  quietly  asleep,  being  brought  to  him.  And 
it  was  the  moment  when  one  swift  echo  of  the 
prayer  he  had  already  made  upon  his  knees  leaped 
through  his  mind — to  be  gone  again  as  lightning 
flashes  through  a  midnight  sky.  After  that  there 
was  to  be  no  more  prayer,  only  action. 


The  watching  surgeons  unconsciously  held  their 
breath  as  the  operation  began.  For  the  patient  on 
the  table  was  James  Van  Horn,  and  the  man  who 
had  taken  Van  Horn's  life  into  his  hands  was  not  a 
great  surgeon  from  New  York  or  Boston,  as  was  to 
have  been  anticipated,  but  their  everyday  colleague 


i84          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Burns.  And  at  that  moment  not  one  of  them 
envied  him  his  chance. 

Ellen  had  seldom  waited  more  anxiously  for 
the  word  her  husband  always  sent  her  at  such 
times.  He  fully  recognized  that  the  silent  partner 
in  crises  like  these  suffered  a  very  real  and  trying 
suspense,  the  greater  that  there  was  nothing  she 
could  do  for  him  except  to  send  him  to  his  work 
heartened  by  the  thought  of  her  and  of  her  belief 
in  him. 

It  was  longer  than  usual,  on  this  more  than  ordi 
narily  fateful  morning,  before  Ellen  received  the 
first  word  from  the  hospital.  When  it  came  it  wa? 
from  an  attendant  and  it  was  not  reassuring: 

"Doctor  Burns  wishes  me  to  tell  you  that  the 
patient  has  come  through  the  operation,  but  is 
in  a  critical  condition.  He  will  not  leave  him  at 
present." 

This  meant  more  hours  of  waiting,  during  which 
Ellen  could  set  her  mind  and  hand  to  nothing  which 
was  not  purely  mechanical.  She  was  realizing  to 
the  full  that  it  was  the  unknown  factor  of  which 
Burns  had  often  spoken,  the  unforeseen  contin 
gency,  which  might  upset  all  the  calculations  and 
efforts  of  science  and  skill.  Well  she  knew  that, 
though  her  husband's  reputation  was  an  assured 
one,  it  might  suffer  somewhat  from  the  loss  of  this 
prominent  case.  Ellen  felt  certain  that  this  last 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  185 

consideration  was  one  to  weigh  little  with  Burns 
himself  compared  with  his  personal  and  bitter  re 
gret  over  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  save  a  life.  But 
it  seemed  to  her  that  she  cared  from  every  point 
of  view,  and  to  her  the  time  of  waiting  was  espe 
cially  hard  to  bear. 

There  was  one  relief  in  the  situation — never  had 
she  had  her  vigils  shared  as  Jordan  King  was  shar 
ing  this  one.  As  the  hours  went  by,  both  by  mes 
sages  over  the  telephone  and  by  more  than  one 
hurried  drive  out  to  see  Ellen  in  person,  did  he  let 
her  know  that  his  concern  for  Burns's  victory  was 
only  second  to  her  own. 

"He's  got  to  save  him!"  was  his  declaration, 
standing  in  her  doorway,  late  in  the  evening,  hat 
in  hand,  bright  dark  eyes  on  Ellen's.  "And  the 
way  he's  sticking  by,  I'm  confident  he  will.  That 
bull-dog  grip  of  his  we  know  so  well  would  pull  a 
ton  of  lead  out  of  a  quicksand.  He  won't  give  up 
while  there's  a  breath  stirring,  and  even  if  it  stops 
he'll  start  it  again — with  his  will!" 

"You  are  a  loyal  friend."  Ellen's  smile  re 
warded  him  for  this  blindly  assured  speech,  well 
as  she  knew  how  shaky  was  the  foundation  on 
which  he  might  be  standing.  "But  the  last  mes 
sage  he  sent  was  only  that  no  ground  had  been 
lost." 

"Well,  that's  a  good  deal  after  ten  hours  "     He 


1 86          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

looked  at  his  watch.  "Keep  a  brave  heart,  Mrs. 
Burns.  I'm  going  to  the  hospital  now  to  see  if  I 
can  get  just  a  glimpse  of  our  man  before  we  settle 
down  for  the  night.  And  I  want  to  arrange  with 
Miss  Dwight — she  was  my  nurse — to  let  me  know 
any  news  at  any  hour  in  the  night." 

It  was  at  three  in  the  morning  that  King  called 
her  to  say  with  a  ring  of  joy  in  his  voice:  "There's 
a  bit  of  a  gain,  Mrs.  Burns.  It  looks  brighter." 

It  was  at  eight,  five  hours  later,  that  Burns  him 
self  spoke  to  her.  His  voice  betrayed  tension  in 
spite  of  its  steadiness.  "We're  holding  hard,  Len; 
that's  about  all  I  can  say." 

"Dear — are  you  getting  any  rest?" 

"Don't  want  any;  I'm  all  right.  I'll  not  be  home 
till  we're  out  of  this,  you  know.  Good-bye,  my 
girl."  And  he  was  gone,  back  to  the  bedside.  She 
knew,  without  being  told,  that  he  had  hardly  left  it. 

Thirty-six  hours  had  gone  by,  and  Ellen  and 
Jordan  King  had  had  many  messages  from  the 
hospital  before  the  one  came  which  eased  their 
anxious  minds:  "Out  of  immediate  danger."  It 
was  almost  another  thirty-six  before  Burns  came 
home. 

She  had  never  seen  him  look  more  radiantly 
happy,  though  the  shadows  under  his  eyes  were 
heavy,  and  there  were  lines  of  fatigue  about  his 
mouth.  Although  she  had  been  watching  for  him 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  187 

he  took  her  by  surprise  at  last,  coming  upon  her  in 
the  early  morning  just  as  she  was  descending  the 
stairs.  With  both  arms  around  her,  as  she  stood  on 
the  bottom  stair,  he  looked  into  her  eyes. 

"The  game's  worth  the  candle,  Len,"  he  said. 

"Even  though  you've  been  burning  the  candle 
at  both  ends,  dear?  Yes,  I  know  it  is.  I'm  so  glad 
-so  glad!" 

"We're  sworn  friends,  Van  and  I.  Can  you  be 
lieve  it?  Len,  he's  simply  the  finest  ever." 

She  smiled  at  him.  "I'm  sure  you  think 
so;  it's  just  what  you  would  think,  my  generous 
boy." 

"I'll  prove  it  to  you  by  and  by,  when  I've  had  a 
wink  of  sleep.  A  bath,  breakfast,  and  two  hours 
of  rest — then  I'll  be  in  service  again.  Van's  rest 
ing  comfortably,  practically  out  of  danger,  and — 
Len,  his  eyes  remind  me  of  a  sick  child's  who  has 
waked  out  of  a  delirium  to  find  his  mother  by  his 
side." 

"Is  that  the  way  his  eyes  look  when  they  meet 
yours?" 

He  nodded.     "Of  course.     That's  how  I  know." 

"0  Red,"  she  said  softly — "to  think  of  the 
eyes  that  look  at  you  like  that!" 

"They  don't  all,"  he  answered  as  the  two  went 
up  the  stairs  side  by  side.  "But  Van — well,  he's 
been  through  the  deep  waters,  and  he's  found — a 


i88          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

footing  on  rock  where  he  expected  shifting  sands. 
Ah,  there's  my  boy!  Give  him  to  me  quick!" 

The  Little-Un,  surging  plumply  out  of  the 
nursery,  tumbled  into  his  father's  arms,  and  sub 
mitted,  shouting  with  glee,  to  the  sort  of  huggings, 
kissings,  and  general  inspection  to  which  he  was 
happily  accustomed  when  Burns  came  home  after 
a  longer  absence  than  usual. 

Just  before  he  went  back  to  the  hospital,  re 
freshed  by  an  hour's  longer  sleep  than  he  had 
meant  to  take,  because  Ellen  would  not  wake  him 
sooner,  Burns  opened  the  pile  of  mail  which  had 
accumulated  during  his  absence.  He  sat  on  the 
arm  of  the  blue  couch,  tossing  the  letters  one  by 
one  upon  the  table  behind  it,  in  two  piles,  one  for 
his  personal  consideration,  the  other  for  Miss 
Mathewson's  answering.  Ellen,  happily  relaxing 
in  a  corner  of  the  couch,  her  eyes  watching  the 
letter  opening,  saw  her  husband's  eyes  widen  as  he 
stooped  to  pick  up  a  small  blue  paper  which  had 
fallen  from  the  missive  he  had  just  slitted.  As  he 
unfolded  the  blue  slip  and  glanced  at  it,  an  aston 
ished  whistle  leaped  to  his  lips. 

"Well,  by  the  powers — what's  this?"  he  mur 
mured.  "A  New  York  draft  for  a  thousand  dol 
lars,  inclosed  in  a  letter  which  says  nothing  except 
a  typewritten  * From  one  of  the  most  grateful  of  all 
grateful  patients?  Len,  what  do  you  think  of  that  ? 


THE  ONLY  SAFE  PLACE  189 

Who  on  earth  sent  it?  I  haven't  had  a  rich  patient 
who  hasn't  paid  his  bill,  or  who  won't  pay  it  in  due 
form  when  he  gets  around  to  it.  And  the  poor  ones 
don't  send  checks  of  this  size." 

"I  can't  imagine,"  she  said,  studying  the  few 
words  on  the  otherwise  blank  sheet,  and  the  post 
mark  on  the  typewritten  envelope,  which  showed 
the  letter  also  to  have  come  from  New  York. 
"You  haven't  had  a  patient  lately  who  was  travel 
ling — a  hotel  case,  or  anything  of  that  sort?" 

He  shook  his  head  '''None  that  didn't  pay  be 
fore  he  left — and  none  that  seemed  particularly 
grateful  anyhow.  Well,  I  must  be  off.  The  thou 
sand's  all  right,  wherever  it  came  from,  eh?  Aivd 
I  want  to  get  back  to  Van.  I'd  put  that  draft 
in  the  fire  rather  than  go  back  to  find  the  slightest 
slip  in  his  case.  I  think,  if  I  should,  I'd  lose  my 
nerve  at  last." 


CHAPTER  XH 
THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA 

JORDAN  KING,  directing  his  car  with  neces 
sary  caution  through  the  traffic  of  a  small 
but  crowded  city,  two  hundred  miles  from 
home,  suddenly  threw  out  his  clutch  and  jammed 
his  brakes  into  urgent  use.       Beside  him  Aleck, 
flinging  out  a  hasty  arm  to  warn  drivers  pressing 
closely  behind,  gazed  at  his  employer  in  wonder. 
There  was  absolutely  nothing  to  stop  them,  and  an 
autocratic  crossing  policeman  just  ahead  was  im 
patiently  waving  them  forward. 

But  King,  his  eyes  apparently  following  some 
thing  or  some  one  in  the  throng,  which  had  just 
negotiated  the  crossing  of  the  street  at  right  angles 
to  his  own  direction,  spoke  hurriedly:  "Turn  to 
the  right  here,  Aleck,  and  wait  for  me  at  the  first 
spot  clown  that  street  where  they'll  let  you  stop." 

He  was  out  of  the  car  and  off  at  a  dangerous 
slant  through  the  procession  of  moving  vehicles, 
dodging  past  great  trucks  and  slipping  by  the 
noses  of  touring  cars  and  coupes  with  apparent 
recklessness  of  consequences. 

190 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  191 

Aleck,  sliding  into  the  driver's  seat  and  forced 
to  lose  sight  of  King's  tall  figure  because  of  the 
urgency  of  the  crowding  mass  behind,  was  moved 
to  curious  speculation.  As  he  turned  the  desig 
nated  corner,  he  was  saying  to  himself  with  a 
chuckle:  "He  always  was  quick  on  the  trigger,  but 
I'll  be  darned  if  that  wasn't  about  the  hastiest 
move  I  ever  saw  him  make.  What's  he  after,  any 
how,  in  this  town  where  he  just  told  me  he  didn't 
know  a  soul  ?  Well,  it's  some  wait  for  me,  I'll  bet." 

If  he  could  have  seen  his  master  as  that  young 
man  plunged  along  through  the  crowd  Aleck  would 
have  found  plenty  to  interest  him.  King  was  doing 
his  best  to  pursue  and  catch  up  with  a  figure  which 
he  now  and  again  lost  sight  of  in  the  throng,  so 
that  he  slowed  his  pace  lest  he  go  by  it  unawares. 
The  fear  that  he  might  thus  miss  and  lose  it 
sharpened  his  gaze  and  gave  to  his  face  an  intent 
look,  so  that  many  people  stared  at  him  as  he 
passed  them,  wondering  what  the  comely,  dark- 
eyed  young  man  was  after  that  he  was  rushing  at 
such  a  pace. 

•  There  came  a  moment  when  King  paused,  un 
certain,  his  heart  standing  still  with  the  certainty 
that  he  was  off  the  track  and  that  his  quarry  had 
unconsciously  doubled  and  eluded  him.  An  in 
stant  later  he  drew  a  quick  breath  of  relief,  his 
gaze  following  a  slender  black  figure  as  it  mounted 


i92         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

the  steps  of  an  old  church  which  stood,  dingy  but 
still  dignified,  close  by  the  highway,  its  open  doors 
indicating  that  it  had  remained  in  this  downtown 
district  for  a  purpose.  King  sprang  up  the  steps, 
then  paused  in  the  great  doorway,  beyond  which 
the  darkness  and  quiet  of  an  empty  interior 
silently  invited  passers-by  to  rest  and  reflect.  At 
that  moment  a  deep  organ  note  sounded  far 
away  upon  the  stillness,  and  King  took  a  step  in 
side,  looking  cautiously  about  him.  The  figure  he 
pursued  had  vanished,  and  after  a  moment  more 
he  crossed  the  vestibule  and  stood,  hat  in  hand, 
gazing  into  the  dim  depths  beyond. 

For  a  little,  coming  as  he  had  from  the  strong 
light  of  the  September  afternoon,  he  could  see  ab 
solutely  nothing;  but  as  his  vision  cleared  he  was 
able  to  make  out  a  small  group  of  people  far  toward 
the  front  of  the  spacious  interior,  and  the  form  of 
the  organist  himself  before  his  manuals  low  at  the 
right  of  the  choir.  But  he  had  to  look  for  some 
time  before  he  could  descry  at  the  farthermost 
side  of  the  church  a  solitary  head  bent  upon  the 
rail  before  it.  Toward  this  point  the  young  man 
slowly  made  his  way,  his  heart  hammering  a  most 
unwonted  tattoo  within  his  broad  breast. 

Several  pews  behind  and  to  one  side  of  the  kneel 
ing  figure  he  took  his  place,  his  gaze  fastened  upon 
it.  He  looked  his  fill,  secure  in  his  own  position, 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  193 

which  was  in  the  shadow  of  a  great  stone  pillar, 
where  the  dim  light  from  the  sombre-toned  win 
dows  did  not  touch  him.  And,  as  he  looked,  the 
conviction  he  had  had  since  his  first  meeting  with 
this  girl  deepened  and  strengthened  into  resolution. 
He  would  not  lose  her  again,  no  matter  what  it 
might  cost  to  hold  her.  He  would  not  believe  a 
man  could  be  mistaken  in  that  face,  in  that  ex 
quisite  and  arresting  personality.  There  was  not 
such  another  in  the  whole  wide  world. 

Suddenly  she  turned,  and  evidently  she  saw 
that  some  one  was  near  her,  though  he  knew  it 
was  not  possible  that  she  had  recognized  him. 
She  sat  quite  still  for  another  five  minutes, 
then  rose  very  quietly,  gathering  up  the  remem 
bered  black  handbag,  and  moved  like  a  young 
nun  into  the  aisle,  head  downbent.  King  slipped 
out  of  his  pew,  made  a  quick  circuit  around  the 
pillar,  and  met  her  squarely  as  she  came  toward 
him. 

He  stood  still  in  her  path,  and  she,  looking  par 
tially  up  to  pass  him  with  that  complete  ignoring 
of  his  presence  which  young  women  of  breeding 
employ  when  strangers  threaten  to  take  notice, 
heard  his  low  voice:  "Please  don't  run  away — • 
from  your  friend!" 

"Oh — Mr.  King!"  Her  eyes,  startled,  met  his 
indeed,  and  into  her  face,  as  she  spoke  his  name, 


194          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

poured  a  flood  of  beautiful  colour,  at  sight  of  which 
King  all  but  lost  his  head. 

He  managed,  however,  to  retain  sufficient  san 
ity  to  grasp  her  hand  after  the  fashion  approved 
as  the  proper  sign  of  cordiality  in  meeting  a  valued 
acquaintance,  and  to  say,  in  an  outwardly  re 
strained  manner:  "Won't  you  sit  down  again 
here?  We  can  talk  so  much  better  than  outside — 
and  I  must  talk  with  you.  You  have  no  idea  how 
hard  I  have  tried  to  find  you." 

She  seemed  to  hesitate  for  an  instant,  but  ended 
by  slipping  into  the  pew  by  the  pillar  where  King 
had  been  sitting,  and  to  which  he  pointed  her, 
as  the  most  sheltered  spot  at  hand,  where  the  group 
of  people  at  the  front  of  the  church  were  hidden 
from  view,  and  only  the  now  low  and  throbbing 
notes  of  the  organ  could  remind  the  pair  that  they 
were  not  absolutely  alone. 

"This  is  wonderful — for  me,"  King  began,  in 
the  hushed  tone  befitting  such  a  place — and  the 
tone  which  suited  his  feelings  as  well.  "I  have 
thought  of  you  a  million  times  in  these  months 
and  longed  to  know  just  how  you  were  looking. 
Now  that  I  see  for  myself  my  mind  is  a  bit  easier — • 
and  yet — I'm  somehow  more  anxious  about  you 
than  ever." 

"There's  no  reason  why  you  should  be  anxious 
about  me,  Mr.  King,"  she  answered,  her  eves  re- 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  195 

leasing  themselves  from  his  in  spite  of  his  effort  to 
hold  them.  "I'm  doing  very  well,  and — quite  en 
joying  my  work.  How  about  yourself?  I  hardly 
need  to  ask." 

"Oh,  I'm  coming  on  finely,  thank  you.  I've 
plunged  into  my  work  with  all  the  zest  I  ever  had. 
Only  one  thing  has  bothered  me:  I  seemed  unable 
to  get  out  of  the  habit  of  watching  the  mails.  And 
they  have  been  mighty  disappointing." 

"You  surely  couldn't  expect,"  she  said,  smiling 
a  little,  "that  once  you  were  well  again  you  should 
be  pampered  with  frequent  letters." 

"I  certainly  haven't  been  pampered.  One  letter 
in  all  this  time — 

"Book  agents  haven't  much  time  for  writing 
letters.  And  surely  engineers  must  be  busy 
people." 

He  was  silent  for  a  minute,  studying  her.  She 
seemed,  in  spite  of  her  youth  and  beauty,  wonder 
fully  self-reliant.  Again,  as  in  the  room  at  the  hos 
pital,  her  quiet  poise  of  manner  struck  him.  And 
though  she  was  once  more  dressed  in  the  plainest 
and  least  costly  of  attire — as  well  as  he  could 
judge — he  knew  that  he  should  be  entirely  willing 
to  take  her  anywhere  where  he  was  known,  with 
no  mental  apologies  for  her  appearance.  This 
thought  immediately  put  another  into  his  mind, 
on  which  he  lost  no  time  in  acting. 


196         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"This  is  a  great  piece  of  luck,"  said  he,  and 
went  on  hurriedly,  trying  to  use  diplomacy,  which 
always  came  hard  with  him:  "I  don't  want  it  to 
slip  away  too  soon.  Why  couldn't  we  spend  the 
rest  of  the  day  together?  I'm  just  on  my  way  back 
home  from  a  piece  of  work  I've  been  superintending 
outside  this  city.  I've  plenty  of  time  ahead  of  me, 
and  I'm  sure  the  book  business  can't  be  so  pressing 
that  you  couldn't  take  a  few  hours  off.  If  you'll 
venture  to  trust  yourself  to  me  we'll  go  off  into  the 
country  somewhere,  and  have  dinner  at  some 
pleasant  place.  Then  we  can  talk  things  over — all 
sorts  of  things,"  he  added  quickly,  lest  this  seem 
too  pointed.  "Won't  you — please?" 

She  considered  an  instant,  then  said  frankly: 
"Of  course  that  would  be  delightful,  and  I  can't 
think  of  a  real  reason  why  I  shouldn't  do  it.  What 
time  is  it,  please?" 

"Only  three  o'clock.  We'll  have  time  for  a 
splendid  drive  and  I'll  promise  to  get  you  back  at 
any  hour  you  say — after  dinner." 

"It  must  be  early." 

"It  shall  be.  Well,  then — will  you  wait  in  the 
vestibule  out  here  two  minutes,  please?  I'll  have 
the  car  at  the  door." 

Thus  it  happened  that  Aleck,  four  blocks  away, 
having  just  comfortably  settled  to  the  reading  of 
a  popular  magazine  on  mechanics,  found  himself 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  197 

summarily  ejected  from  his  seat,  and  sent  off  upon 
his  own  resources  for  a  number  of  hours. 

"Take  care  of  yourself,  Al,  and  have  a  good  time 
out  of  it  if  you  can,"  urged  his  master,  and  Aleck 
observed  that  King's  eyes  were  very  bright  and 
his  manner  indicative  of  some  fresh  mental  stimu 
lus  received  during  the  brief  time  of  his  absence. 
"Have  the  best  sort  of  a  dinner  wherever  you 
like." 

"All  right,  Mr.  King,"  Aleck  responded.  "I 
hope  you're  going  to  have  a  good  time  yourself," 
he  added,  "  after  all  the  work  you've  done  to-day. 
T.  was  some  anxious  for  fear  you'd  do  too  much." 

"No  chance,  Aleck,  with  Doctor  Burns's  orders 
>hat  they  are.  And  I  didn't  do  a  thing  but  stand 
around  and  talk  with  the  men.  I'm  feeling  fit  as  a 
fiddle  now."  And  King  drove  off  in  haste. 

Back  at  the  church  he  watched  with  intense 
satisfaction  Miss  Anne  Linton's  descent  of  the 
dusty  steps.  The  September  sunshine  was  hazily 
bright,  the  air  was  warmly  caressing,  and  there 
were  several  hours  ahead  containing  such  an  op 
portunity  as  he  had  not  yet  had  to  try  at  finding 
out  the  things  he  had  wanted  to  know.  Not  this 
girl's  circumstances — though  he  should  be  inter 
ested  in  that  topic — not  any  affairs  of  hers  which 
she  should  not  choose  to  tell  him;  but  the  future 
relationship  between  herself  and  him — this  was 


I98          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

what  he  must  establish  upon  some  sort  of  a  definite 
basis,  if  it  were  possible. 

Out  through  the  crowded  streets  into  the  sub 
urbs,  on  beyond  these  to  the  open  country,  the  car 
took  its  way  with  as  much  haste  as  was  compatible 
with  necessary  caution.  Once  on  the  open  road, 
however,  and  well  away,  King  paid  small  attention 
to  covering  distance.  Indeed,  when  they  had 
reached  a  certain  wooded  district,  picturesque 
after  the  fashion  of  the  semi-mountainous  country 
of  that  part  of  the  state,  he  let  his  car  idle  after 
a  fashion  most  unaccustomed  with  him,  who  was 
usually  principally  concerned  with  getting  from 
one  place  to  another  with  the  least  possible  waste  of 
time. 

And  now  he  and  Anne  Linton  were  talking  as 
they  never  had  had  the  chance  to  talk  before,  and 
they  were  exploring  each  other's  minds  with  the 
zest  of  those  who  have  many  tastes  in  common. 
King  was  confirming  that  of  which  he  had  been 
convinced  by  her  letters,  that  she  was  thoroughly 
educated,  and  that  she  had  read  and  thought  along 
lines  which  had  intensely  interested  him  ever  since 
he  had  reached  the  thinking  age.  To  his  delight  he 
found  that  she  could  hold  her  own  in  an  argument 
with  as  close  reasoning,  as  logical  deduction,  as 
keen  interpretation,  as  any  young  man  he  knew. 
And  with  it  all  she  showed  a  certain  quality  of  ap- 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  199 

preciation  of  his  own  side  of  the  question  which 
especially  pleased  him,  because  it  proved  that  she 
possessed  that  most  desirable  power,  rare  among 
those  of  her  sex  as  he  knew  them — the  ability  to 
hold  herself  free  from  undue  bias. 

Yet  she  proved  herself  a  very  girl  none  the  less 
by  suddenly  crying  out  at  sight  of  certain  tall 
masses  of  shell-pink  flowers  growing  by  the  road 
side  in  a  shady  nook,  and  by  insisting  on  getting 
out  to  pick  them  for  herself. 

"It's  so  much  more  fun,"  she  asserted,  "to 
choose  one's  own  than  to  watch  a  man  picking  all 
the  poorest  blossoms  and  leaving  the  very  best." 

"Is  that  what  we  do?"  King  asked,  his  eyes 
feasting  upon  the  sight  of  her  as  she  filled  her  arms 
with  the  gay  masses,  her  face  eager  with  her  pleas 
ure  in  them. 

"Yes,  indeed.  Or  else  you  get  out  a  jackknife 
and  hack  off  great  handfuls  of  them  at  once,  and 
bring  them  back  all  bleeding  from  your  ruthless 
attack." 

"I  see.  And  you  gather  them  delicately,  so 
they  don't  mind,  I  suppose.  Yet — I  was  given  to 
understand  that  'Susquehanna'  died  first.  I've 
always  wondered  what  you  did  to  her.  I'd  banked 
on  her  as  the  huskiest  of  the  lot." 

She  flashed  a  quick  look  at  him,  compounded  of 
surprise,  mirth,  and  something  else  whose  nature 


200          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

he  could  not  guess.  ' '  Susquehanna '  was  certainly 
a  wonderful  rose,"  she  admitted. 

"Yet  only  next  morning  she  was  sadly  drooping. 
I  know,  because  I  received  a  report  of  her.  And 
I  lost  my  wager." 

"You  should  have  known  better,"  she  said  de 
murely,  her  head  bent  over  her  armful  of  flowers, 
"than  to  make  a  wager  on  the  life  of  a  rose  sent  to 
a  girl  who  was  just  coming  back  to  life  herself." 

"You  weren't  so  gentle  with  'Susquehanna,' 
then,  I  take  it,  as  you  are  with  those  wild  things 
you  have  there." 

"I  was  not  gentle  with  her  at  all."  Anne  lifted 
her  head  with  a  mischievously  merry  look.  "If 
you  must  know — I  kissed  her — hard!" 

"Ah!"  Jordan  King  sat  back,  laughing,  with 
suddenly  rising  colour.  "  I  thought  as  much.  But  I 
suppose  I'm  to  take  it  that  you  did  it  solely  be 
cause  she  was  *  Susquehanna' — not  because " 

"Certainly  because  she  was  her  lovely  self,  cool 
and  sweet  and  a  glorious  colour,  and  she  reminded 
me — of  other  roses  I  had  known.  Flowers  to  a 
convalescent  are  only  just  a  little  less  reviving 
than  food.  'Susquehanna'  cheered  me  on  toward 
victory." 

"Then  she  died  happy,  I'm  sure." 

He  would  have  enjoyed  keeping  it  up  with  non 
sense  of  this  pleasurable  sort,  but  as  soon  as  Anne 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  201 

was  back  in  the  car  she  somehow  turned  him 
aside  upon  quite  different  ground,  just  how  he 
could  not  tell.  He  found  himself  led  on  to  talk 
about  his  work,  and  he  could  not  discover  in  her 
questioning  a  trace  of  anything  but  genuine  in 
terest.  No  man,  however  modest  about  himself, 
finds  it  altogether  distressing  to  have  to  tell  a 
charming  girl  some  of  his  more  exciting  expe 
riences.  In  the  days  of  his  early  apprenticeship 
King  had  spent  many  months  with  a  contracting 
engineer  of  reputation,  who  was  executing  a  not 
able  piece  of  work  in  a  wild  and  even  dangerous 
country,  and  the  young  man's  memory  was  full  of 
adventures  connected  with  that  period.  In  contrast 
with  his  present  work,  which  was  of  a  much  more 
prosaic  sort,  it  formed  a  chapter  in  his  history  to 
which  it  stirred  him  even  yet  to  turn  back,  and  at 
Anne's  request  he  was  soon  launched  upon  it. 

So  the  afternoon  passed  amidst  the  sights  and 
sounds  of  the  September  country.  And  now  and 
again  they  stopped  to  look  at  some  fine  view  from  a 
commanding  height,  or  flew  gayly  down  some  in 
viting  stretch  of  smooth  road.  By  and  by  they 
were  at  an  old  inn,  well  up  on  the  top  of  the 
world,  which  King  had  had  in  mind  from  the  start, 
and  to  which  he  had  taken  time,  an  hour  before,  to 
telephone  and  order  things  he  had  hoped  she  would 
like.  When  the  two  sat  down  at  a  table  in  a  quiet 


202          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

corner  there  were  flowers  and  shining  silver  upon  a 
snowy  cloth,  and  the  food  which  soon  arrived  was 
deliciously  cooked,  sustaining  the  reputation  the 
place  had  among  motorists.  And  in  the  very  way 
in  which  Anne  Linton  filled  her  position  opposite 
Jordan  King  was  further  proof  that,  in  spite  of  all 
evidence  to  the  contrary,  she  belonged  to  his  class. 

Their  table  was  lighted  with  shaded  candles,  and 
in  the  soft  glow  Anne's  face  had  become  startlingly 
lovely.  She  had  tucked  a  handful  of  the  shell-pink 
wild  flowers  into  the  girdle  of  her  black  dress, 
and  their  hue  was  reflected  in  her  cheeks,  glowing 
from  the  afternoon's  drive  in  the  sun.  As  King 
talked  and  laughed,  his  eyes  seldom  off  her  face,  he 
felt  the  enchantment  of  her  presence  grow  upon  him 
with  every  minute  that  went  by. 

Suddenly  he  blurted  out  a  question  which  had 
been  in  his  mind  all  day.  "I  had  a  curious  ex 
perience  a  while  back,"  he  said,  "when  I  first  got 
out  into  the  world.  I  was  in  Doctor  Burns's  car,  and 
we  met  some  people  in  a  limousine,  touring.  They 
stopped  to  ask  about  the  road;,  and  there  was  a  girl 
in  the  car  who  looked  like  you.  But — she  didn't 
recognize  me  by  the  slightest  sign,  so  I  knew  of 
course  it  couldn't  be  you." 

He  looked  straight  at  Anne  as  he  spoke,  and 
saw  her  lower  her  eyes  for  a  moment  with  an 
odd  little  smile  on  her  lips.  She  did  not  long  evade 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  203 

his  gaze,  however,  but  gave  him  back  his  look 
unflinchingly. 

"It  was  I,"  she  said.  "  But  I'm  not  going  to  tell 
you  how  I  came  to  be  there,  nor  why  I  didn't  bow 
to  you.  All  I  want  to  say  is  that  there  was  a  reason 
for  it  all,  and  if  I  could  tell  you,  you  would  under 
stand." 

Well,  he  could  not  look  into  her  face  and  not 
trust  her  in  whatever  she  might  elect  to  do,  and  he 
said  something  to  that  effect.  Whereupon  she 
smiled  and  thanked  him,  and  said  she  was  sorry  to 
be  so  mysterious.  He  recalled  with  a  fresh  thrill 
how  she  had  looked  at  him  at  that  strange  meeting, 
for  now  that  he  knew  that  it  was  surely  she,  the 
great  fact  which  stayed  by  him  was  that  she  had 
given  him  that  look  to  remember,  given  it  to  him 
with  intent,  beyond  a  doubt. 

They  came  out  presently  upon  a  long  porch 
overhanging  the  shore  of  a  small  lake.  The  Sep 
tember  sun  was  already  low,  and  the  light  upon  the 
blue  hills  in  the  distance  was  turning  slowly  to  a 
dusky  purple.  The  place  was  very  quiet,  for  it  was 
growing  late  in  the  tourist  season,  and  the  inn  was 
remote  from  main  highways  of  travel. 

" Can't  we  stay  here  just  a  bit?"  King  asked 
pleadingly.  "  It  won't  take  us  more  than  an  hour  to 
get  back  if  we  go  along  at  a  fair  pace.  We  came 
by  a  roundabout  way." 


204          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

With  each  hour  that  passed  he  was  realizing 
more  fully  how  he  dreaded  the  end  of  this  unex 
pected  and  absorbing  adventure.  So  far  none  of 
his  attempts  to  pave  the  way  for  other  meetings,  in 
other  towns  to  which  she  might  be  going  in  the 
course  of  her  book  selling,  had  resulted  in  anything 
satisfactory.  And  even  now  Anne  Linton  was 
shaking  her  head. 

"I  think  I  must  ask  you  to  take  me  back  now,'* 
she  said.  "I  want  to  come  into  the  house  where  I 
am  staying  not  later  than  I  usually  do." 

So  he  had  to  leave  the  pleasant,  vine-clad  porch 
and  take  his  place  beside  her  in  the  car  again.  It 
did  not  seem  to  him  that  he  was  having  a  fair 
chance.  But  he  thought  of  a  plan  and  proceeded 
to  put  it  into  execution.  He  drove  steadily  and  in 
silence  until  the  lights  of  the  nearing  city  were  be 
ginning  to  show  faintly  in  the  twilight,  with  the  sky 
still  rich  with  colour  in  the  west.  Then,  at  a  certain 
curve  in  the  road  far  above  the  rest  of  the  country 
side,  he  brought  the  car  to  a  standstill. 

"I  can't  bear  to  go  on  and  end  this  day,"  he  said 
in  a  low  voice  of  regret.  "How  can  I  tell  when  I 
shall  see  you  again  ?  Do  you  realize  that  every  time 
I  have  said  a  word  about  our  meeting  in  the  future 
you've  somehow  turned  me  aside?  Do  you  want 
me  to  understand  that  you  would  rather  never  see 
me  again?" 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  205 

Her  face  was  toward  the  distant  lights,  and  she 
did  not  answer  for  a  minute.  Then  she  said 
slowly:  "I  should  like  very  much  to  see  you  again, 
Mr.  King.  But  you  surely  understand  that  I 
couldn't  make  appointments  with  you  to  meet  me 
in  other  towns.  This  has  happened  and  it  has  been 
very  pleasant,  but  it  wouldn't  do  to  make  it  keep 
happening.  Even  though  I  travel  about  with  a 
book  to  sell,  I — shall  never  lose  the  sense  of — being 
under  the  protection  of  a  home  such  as  other  girls 
have." 

"I  wouldn't  have  you  lose  it — good  heavens,  no! 
I  only — well —  And  now  he  stopped,  set  his 

teeth  for  an  instant,  and  then  plunged  ahead. 
"But  there's  something  I  can't  lose  either,  and  it's 
— you!" 

She  looked  at  him  then,  evidently  startled. 
"Mr.  King,  will  you  drive  on,  please?"  she  said 
very  quietly,  but  he  felt  something  in  her  tone 
which  for  an  instant  he  did  not  understand.  In  the 
next  instant  he  thought  he  did  understand  it. 

He  spoke  hurriedly:  "You  don't  know  me  very 
well  yet,  do  you  ?  But  I  thought  you  knew  me  well 
enough  to  know  that  I  wouldn't  say  a  thing  like 
that  unless  I  meant  all  that  goes  with  it — and 
follows  it.  You  see — I  love  you.  If — if  you  are  not 
afraid  of  a  man  in  a  plaster  jacket — it'll  come  off 
some  day,  you  know — I  ask  you  to  marry  me." 


2o6          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

There  was  a  long  silence  then,  in  which  King 
felt  his  heart  pumping  away  for  dear  life.  He  had 
taken  the  bit  between  his  teeth  now,  certainly,  and 
offered  this  girl,  of  whom  he  knew  less  than  of  any 
human  being  in  whom  he  had  the  slightest  interest, 
all  that  he  had  to  give.  Yet — hewas  so  sureheknew 
her  that,  the  words  once  out,  he  realized  that  he 
was  glad  he  had  spoken  them. 

At  last  she  turned  toward  him.  "You  are  a  very 
brave  man,"  she  said,  "and  a  very  chivalrous  man." 

He  laughed  rather  huskily.  "It  doesn't  take 
much  of  either  bravery  or  chivalry  for  a  man  to 
offer  himself  to  you." 

"It  must  take  plenty  of  both.  You  are — what 
you  are,  in  the  big  world  you  live  in.  And  you  dare 
to  trust  an  absolute  stranger,  whom  you  have  no 
means  of  knowing  better,  with  that  name  of  yours. 
Think,  Mr.  Jordan  King,  what  that  name  means  to 
you — and  to  your  mother." 

"I  have  thought.  And  I  offer  it  to  you.  And  I 
do  know  what  you  are.  You  can't  disguise  your 
self — any  more  than  the  Princess  in  the  fairy  tale. 
Do  you  think  all  those  notes  I  had  from  you  at  the 
hospital  didn't  tell  the  story?  I  don't  know 
why  you  are  selling  books  from  door  to  door — and  I 
don't  want  to  know.  What  I  do  understand  is — 
that  you  are  the  first  of  your  family  to  do  it!" 

"Mr.  King,"  she  said  gravely,  "women  are  very 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  207 

clever  at  one  thing — cleverer  than  men.  With  a 
little  study,  a  little  training,  a  little  education,  they 
can  make  a  brave  showing.  I  have  known  a  shop 
girl  who,  after  six  months  of  living  with  a  very 
charming  society  woman,  could  play  that  woman's 
part  without  mistake.  And  when  it  came  to  talk 
ing  with  men  of  brains,  she  could  even  use  a  few 
clever  phrases  and  leave  the  rest  of  the  conversa 
tion  to  them,  and  they  were  convinced  of  her 
brilliant  mind." 

"You  have  not  been  a  shopgirl,"  he  said  steadily. 
"You  belong  in  a  home  like  mine.  If  you  have 
lost  it  by  some  accident,  that  is  only  the  fortune  of 
life.  But  you  can't  disguise  yourself  as  a  common 
place  person,  for  you're  not.  And — I  can't  let  you 
go  out  of  my  life — I  can't." 

Again  silence,  while  the  sunset  skies  slowly  faded 
;nto  the  dusky  blue  of  night,  and  the  lights  over  the 
distant  city  grew  brighter  and  brighter.  A  light 
wind,  warmly  smoky  with  the  pleasant  fragrance 
of  burning  bonfires,  touched  the  faces  of  the  two  in 
the  car  and  blew  small  curly  strands  of  hair  about 
Anne  Linton's  ears. 

Presently  she  spoke.  "I  am  going  to  promise  to 
write  to  you  now  and  then,"  she  said,  "and  give 
you  each  time  an  address  where  you  may  answer, 
if  you  will  promise  not  to  come  to  me.  I  am  going 
to  tell  you  frankly  that  I  want  your  letters.'* 


208          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"You  want  my  letters — but  not  me?" 

"You  put  more  of  yourself  into  your  letters  than 
any  one  else  I  know.  So  in  admitting  that  I  want 
your  letters  I  admit  that  I  want  yourself — as  a  good 
friend." 

"No  more  than  that?" 

"That's  quite  enough,  isn't  it,  for  people  who 
know  each  other  only  as  we  do  ? " 

"It's  not  enough  for  me.  If  it's  enough  for  you, 
then — well,  it's  as  I  thought." 

"What  did  you  think?" 

He  hesitated,  then  spoke  boldly:  "No  woman 
really  wants — a  mangled  human  being  for  her  own." 

Impulsively  she  laid  her  hand  on  his.  Instantly 
he  grasped  it.  "Please,"  she  said,  "will  you  never 
say — or  think — that,  again?" 

He  gazed  eagerly  into  her  face,  still  duskily  vis 
ible  to  his  scrutiny.  "I  won't,"  he  answered,  "if 
you'll  tell  me  you  care  for  me.  Oh,  don't  you  ? — 
don't  you  ? — not  one  bit  ?  Just  give  me  a  show  of  a 
chance  and  I'll  make  you  care.  I've  got  to  make 
you  care.  Why,  I've  thought  of  nothing  but  you 
for  months — dreamed  of  you,  sleeping  and  waking. 
I  can't  stop;  it's  too  late.  Don't  ask  me  to  stop — 
Anne — dear!" 

No  woman  in  her  senses  could  have  doubted  the 
sincerity  of  this  young  man.  That  he  was  no  adept 
at  love  making  was  apparent  in  the  way  he 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  209 

stumbled  over  his  phrases;  in  the  way  his  voice 
caught  in  his  throat;  in  the  way  it  grew  husky  to 
ward  the  last  of  this  impassioned  pleading  of  his. 

He  still  held  her  hand  close.  "Tell  me  you  care 
—a  little,"  he  begged  of  her  silence. 

"No  girl  can  be  alone  as  I  am  now  and  not  be 
touched  by  such  words,"  she  said  very  gently  after 
a  moment's  hesitation.  "  But — promising  to  marry 
you  is  a  different  matter.  I  can't  let  you  rashly 
offer  me  so  much  when  I  know  what  it  would  mean 
to  you  to  bring  home  a — book  agent  to  your 
mother!" 

He  uttered  a  low  exclamation.  "My  life  is  my 
own,  to  do  with  as  I  please.  If  I'm  satisfied,  that's 
enough.  You  are  what  I  want — all  I  want.  As  for 
my  mother — when  she  knows  you —  But  we'll 
not  talk  of  that  just  yet.  What  I  must  know  is— 
do  you — can  you — care  for  me — enough  to  marry 
me?"  His  hand  tightened  on  hers,  his  voice 
whispered  in  her  ear:  "Anne,  darling — can't  you 
love  me?  I  want  you  so — oh — I  want  you  so! 
Let  me  kiss  you — just  once,  dear.  That  will  tell 
you- 

But  she  drew  her  hand  gently  but  efficiently 
away;  she  spoke  firmly,  though  very  low:  "No — 
no!  Listen — Jordan  King.  Sometime — by  next 
spring  perhaps,  I  shall  be  in  the  place  I  call  home. 
When  that  time  comes  I  will  let  you  know.  If  you 


210         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

still  care  to,  you  may  come  and  see  me  there.  Now 
— won't  you  drive  on,  please?" 

"Yes — if  you'll  let  me — just  once — once  to  live 
on  all  those  months !  Anne " 

But  when  he  would  have  made  action  follow  close 
upon  the  heels  of  pleading  he  found  himself  gently 
but  firmly  prevented  by  an  uplifted  small  hand 
which  did  not  quite  touch  his  nearing  face.  "Ah, 
don't  spoil  that  chivalry  of  yours,"  said  her  mellow, 
low  voice.  "Let  me  go  on  thinking  vou  what  I 
have  believed  you  all  along.  Be  patient,  and  prove 
whether  this  is  real,  instead  of  snatching  at  what 
might  dull  your  judgment!" 

"It  wouldn't  dull  it — only  confirm  it.  And — I 
want  to  make  you  remember  me." 

"You  have  provided  for  that  already,"  she  ad 
mitted,  at  which  he  gave  an  ejaculation  as  of  relief 
— and  of  longing — and  possibly  of  recognition  of 
her  handling  of  the  whole — from  her  point  of  view 
— rather  difficult  situation.  At  the  back  of  his 
mind,  in  spite  of  his  disappointment  at  being  kept 
at  arm's  length  when  he  wanted  something  much 
more  definite,  was  the  recognition  that  here  was 
precisely  the  show  of  spirit  and  dignity  which  his 
judgment  approved  and  admired. 

"I'll  let  you  go,  if  I  must;  but  I'll  come  to  you — 
if  you  live  in  a  hovel — if  you  live  in  a  cave — if  you 
Uve Oh,  I  know  how  you  live!" 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  SUSQUEHANNA  211 

"How  do  I  live?"  she  asked,  laughing  a  little  un 
steadily,  and  as  if  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes, 
though  of  this  he  could  not  be  sure. 

"You  live  in  a  plain  little  house,  with  just  a 
few  of  the  things  you  used  to  have  about  you — 
rows  of  books,  and  a  picture  or  two,  and  some 
old  china.  Things  may  be  a  bit  shabby,  but 
everything  is  beautifully  neat,  and  there  are 
garden  flowers  on  the  table — perhaps  white 
lilacs!" 

"Oh,  what  a  romanticist!"  she  said  through  her 
soft  laughter.  "One  would  think  you  wrote  novels 
instead  of  specifications  for  concrete  walls.  What 
if  you  come  and  find  me  living  with  my  older  sister, 
who  sews  for  a  living — plain  sewing,  at  a  dollar  a 
day?  And  we  have  a  long  credit  account  at  the 
grocery,  which  we  can't  pay?  And  at  night  our 
little  upstairs  room  is  full  of  neighbours — untidy, 
loud-talking,  commonplace  women  ?  And  the  lamp 
smokes 

"It  wouldn't  smoke;  you  would  have  trimmed 
it,"  he  answered  quickly  and  with  conviction. 
"  But,  even  if  it  were  all  like  that,  you  would  still  be 
the  perfect  thing  you  a'-e.  And  I  would  take  you 
away " 

"If  you  don't  drive  on,  Mr.  King,"  she  inter 
posed  gently,  "you  will  soon  be  mentally  unfit  to 
drive  at  all.  And  I  must  be  back  betore  the  dark- 


212         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

ness  has  quite  fallen.     And — don't  you  think  we 
have  talked  enough  about  ourselves?" 

"I  like  that  word,"  he  declared  as  he  obediently 
set  the  car  in  motion.  "Ourselves — that  sounds 
good  to  me.  As  long  as  you  keep  me  with  you  that 
way  I'll  try  to  be  satisfied.  One  thing  I'm  sure  of: 
I've  something  to  work  for  now  that  I  didn't  have 
this  morning.  Oh,  I  know;  you  haven't  given  me  a 
thing.  But  you're  going  to  let  me  come  to  see  you 
next  spring,  and  that's  worth  everything  to  me. 
Meanwhile,  I'll  do  my  level  best — for  you." 

When  he  drew  up  before  the  door  of  the  church, 
where,  in  spite  of  nis  entreaties  that  he  be  allowed 
to  take  her  to  her  lodging  place,  Anne  insisted  on 
being  left,  he  felt,  in  spite  of  all  he  had  gained  that 
day,  a  sinking  of  the  heart.  Though  the  hour  was 
early  and  the  neighbourhood  at  this  time  of  day  a 
quiet  one,  and  though  she  assured  him  that  she  had 
not  far  to  go,  he  was  unhappy  to  leave  her  thus  un 
accompanied. 

"  I  wish  I  could  possibly  imagine  why  it  must  be 
this  way,"  he  said  to  himself  as  he  stood  hat  in  hand 
beside  his  car,  watching  Anne  Linton's  quickly  de 
parting  figure  grow  more  and  more  shadowy  as  the 
twilight  enveloped  it.  "Well,  one  thing  is  certain: 
whatever  she  does  there's  a  good  and  sufficient 
reason;  and  I  trust  her." 


CHAPTER  XIII 
RED  HEADED  AGAIN 

CROWDING  his  hat  upon  his  head  with  a 
vigorous  jerk  after  his  reluctant  parting 
with  Anne  Linton  at  the  church  door, 
Jordan  King  jumped  into  his  car  and  made  his  way 
slowly  through  the  streets  to  the  hotel  where  Aleck 
awaited  him.  For  the  first  few  miles  out  of  the 
city  he  continued  to  drive  at  a  pace  so  moderate 
that  Aleck  more  than  once  glanced  surreptitiously 
at  him,  wondering  if  he  were  actually  going  to 
sleep  at  the  wheel.  It  was  not  until  they  were  be 
yond  the  last  environs  and  far  out  in  the  open 
country  that,  quite  suddenly,  the  car  was  released 
from  its  unusual  restraint  and  began  to  fly  down 
the  road  toward  home  at  the  old  wild  speed. 

Somehow  or  other,  after  this  encounter,  King 
could  not  settle  down  to  his  work  till  he  had  seen 
Red  Pepper  Burns.  He  could  not  have  explained 
why  this  should  be  so,  for  he  certainly  did  not  in 
tend  to  tell  his  friend  of  the  meeting  with  Anne 
Linton,  or  of  the  basis  upon  which  his  affairs  now 
stood.  But  he  wanted  to  see  Burns  with  a  sort  of 


214         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

hunger  which  would  not  be  satisfied,  and  he  went 
to  look  him  up  one  evening  when  he  himself  had  re 
turned  early  from  his  latest  trip  to  the  concrete 
dam. 

He  found  Burns  just  setting  forth  on  a  drive  to 
see  a  patient  in  the  country,  and  King  invited  him 
self  to  go  with  him,  running  his  own  car  off  at  one 
side  of  the  driveway  and  leaping  into  Burns's 
machine  with  only  a  gay  by-your-leave  apology. 
But  he  had  not  more  than  slid  into  his  seat  before 
he  found  that  he  was  beside  a  man  whom  he  did  not 
know. 

King  had  long  understood  that  Red  Pepper's 
significant  cognomen  stood  for  the  hasty  temper 
which  accompanied  the  coppery  hair  and  hazel 
eyes  of  the  man  with  the  big  heart.  But  such  ex 
hibitions  of  that  temper  as  King  had  witnessed  had 
been  limited  to  quick  explosions  from  which  the 
smoke  had  cleared  away  almost  as  soon  as  the 
sound  of  warfare  had  died  upon  the  air.  He  was  in 
no  way  prepared,  therefore,  to  find  himself  in  the 
company  of  a  man  who  was  so  angry  that  he  could 
not — or  would  not — speak  to  one  of  his  best  friends. 

"  Fine  night,"  began  the  young  man  lightly,  try 
ing  again,  after  two  silent  miles,  to  make  way 
against  the  frost  in  the  air.  "I  don't  know  when 
we've  had  such  magnificent  September  weather." 

No  answer. 


RED  HEADED  AGAIN  215 

"I  hope  you  don't  mind  my  going  along.  You 
needn't  talk  at  all,  you  know — and  I'll  be  quiet,  too, 
if  you  prefer." 

No  answer.  King  was  not  at  all  sure  that  Burns 
heard  him.  The  car  was  running  at  a  terrific  pace, 
and  the  profile  of  the  man  at  the  wheel  against  the 
dusky  landscape  looked  as  if  it  were  carved  out  of 
stone.  The  young  man  fell  silent,  wondering. 
Almost,  he  wished  he  had  not  been  so  sure  of  his 
welcome,  but  there  was  no  retreating  now. 

Five  miles  into  the  country  they  ran,  and  King 
soon  guessed  that  their  destination  might  be  Sunny 
Farm,  a  home  for  crippled  children  which  was  Ellen 
Burns's  special  charity,  established  by  herself  on  a 
small  scale  a  few  years  before  and  greatly  grown 
since  in  its  size  and  usefulness.  Burns  was  its  head 
surgeon  and  its  devoted  patron,  and  he  was 
accustomed  to  do  much  operative  work  in  its  well- 
equipped  surgery,  bringing  out  cases  which  he 
found  in  the  city  slums  or  among  the  country  poor, 
with  total  disregard  for  any  considerations  except 
those  of  need  and  sufFering.  King  knew  that  the 
place  and  the  work  were  dearer  to  the  hearts  of 
both  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Burns  than  all  else  outside 
their  own  home,  and  he  began  to  understand  that 
if  anything  had  gone  wrong  with  affairs  there  Red 
Pepper  would  be  sure  to  take  it  seriously. 

Quite  as  he  had  foreseen — since  there  were  few 


216          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

homes  on  this  road,  which  ran  mostly  through 
thickly  wooded  country — the  car  rushed  on  to  the 
big  farmhouse,  lying  low  and  long  in  the  night,  with 
pleasant  lights  twinkling  from  end  to  end.  Burns 
brought  up  with  a  jerk  beside  the  central  porch, 
leaped  out,  and  disappeared  inside  without  a  word 
of  explanation  to  his  companion,  who  sat  wonder 
ing  and  looking  in  through  the  open  door  to  the 
wide  hall  which  ran  straight  through  the  house  t« 
more  big  porches  on  the  farther  side. 

Everything  was  very  quiet  at  this  hour,  accord 
ing  to  the  rules  of  the  place,  all  but  the  oldest 
patients  being  in  bed  and  asleep  by  eight  o'clock. 
Therefore  when,  after  an  interval,  voices  became 
faintly  audible,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  their 
reaching  the  occupant  of  the  car. 

In  a  front  room  upstairs  at  one  side  of  the  hall 
two  people  were  speaking,  and  presently  through 
the  open  window  Burns  was  heard  to  say  with  in 
cisive  sternness:  "I'll  give  you  exactly  ten  minutes 
to  pack  your  bag  and  go — and  I'll  take  you — to 
make  sure  you  do  go." 

A  woman's  voice,  in  a  sort  of  deep-toned  wail, 
answered:  "You  aren't  fair  to  me,  Doctor  Burns; 
you  aren't  fair!  You " 

"Fair!"  The  word  was  a  growl  of  suppressed 
thunder.  "  Don't  talk  of  fairness — you !  You  don't 
know  the  meaning  of  the  word.  You  haven't  been 


RED  HEADED  AGAIN  217 

fair  to  a  single  kid  under  this  roof,  or  to  a  nurse — 
or  to  any  one  of  us — you  with  your  smiles — and 
your  hypocrisy — you  who  can't  be  trusted.  That's 
the  name  for  you — She-Who-Can't-Be-Trusted. 
Go  pack  that  bag,  Mrs.  Soule;  I  won't  hear  another 
word!" 

"Oh,  Doctor " 

"Go,  I  said!" 

Outside,  in  the  car,  Jordan  King  understood  that 
if  the  person  to  whom  Burns  was  speaking  had  not 
been  a  woman  that  command  of  his  might  have 
been  accompanied  by  physical  violence,  and  the 
offending  one  more  than  likely  have  been  ejected 
from  the  door  by  the  thrust  of  two  vigorous  hands 
on  his  shoulders.  There  was  that  in  Burns's  tone — 
all  that  and  more.  His  wrath  was  quite  evidently 
no  explosion  of  the  moment,  but  the  culmination 
of  long  irritation  and  distrust,  brought  to  a  head  by 
some  overt  act  which  had  settled  the  offender's  case 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 

Burns  came  out  soon  after,  followed  by  a  woman 
well  shrouded  in  a  heavy  veil. 

King  jumped  out  of  the  car.  "I'm  awfully 
sorry,"  he  tried  to  say  in  Burns's  ear.  "Just  leave 
me  and  I'll  walk  back." 

"Ride  on  the  running  board,"  was  the  answer,  in 
a  tone  which  King  knew  meant  that  he  was  re 
quested  not  to  argue  about  it. 


218          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

Therefore  when  the  woman — to  whom  he  was 
not  introduced — was  seated,  he  took  his  place  at 
her  feet.  To  his  surprise  they  did  not  move  off  in 
the  direction  from  which  they  had  come,  but  went 
on  over  the  hills  for  five  miles  farther,  driving  in 
absolute  silence,  at  high  speed,  and  arriving  at  a 
small  station  as  a  train  was  heard  to  whistle  far  ofl 
somewhere  in  the  darkness. 

Burns  dashed  into  the  station,  bought  a  ticket^ 
and  had  his  passenger  aboard  the  train  before  it 
had  fairly  come  to  a  standstill  at  the  platform 
King  heard  him  say  no  word  of  farewell  beyond 
the  statement  that  a  trunk  would  be  forwarded 
in  the  morning.  Then  the  whole  strange  event 
was  over;  the  train  was  only  a  rumble  in  the  dis 
tance,  and  King  was  in  his  place  again  beside  thfi 
man  he  did  not  know. 

Silence  again,  and  darkness,  with  only  the  stars 
for  light,  and  the  roadside  rushing  past  as  the  car 
flew.  Then  suddenly,  beside  the  deep  woods,  a 
stop,  and  Burns  getting  out  of  the  car,  with  the 
first  voluntary  words  he  had  spoken  to  King  that 
night. 

" Sit  here,  will  you  ?    I'll  be  back — sometime." 

"Of  course.     Don't  hurry." 

It  was  an  hour  that  King  sat  alone,  wondering. 
Where  Burns  had  gone,  he  had  no  notion,  and  no 


RED  HEADED  AGAIN  219 

sound  came  back  to  give  him  hint.  As  far  as  King 
knew  there  was  no  habitation  back  there  in  the 
depths  into  which  his  companion  had  plunged;  he 
could  not  guess  what  errand  took  him  there. 

At  last  came  a  distant  crashing  as  of  one  making 
his  way  through  heavy  undergrowth,  and  the  noise 
drew  nearer  until  at  length  Burns  burst  through 
into  the  road,  wide  of  the  place  where  he  had  gone 
in.  Then  he  was  at  the  car  and  speaking  to  King, 
and  his  voice  was  very  nearly  his  own  again. 

"Missed  my  trail  coming  back,"  he  said.  "I've 
kept  you  a  blamed  long  time,  haven't  I?" 

"Not  a  bit.     Glad  to  wait." 

"Of  course  that's  a  nice,  kind  lie  at  this  time  of 
night,  and  when  you've  no  idea  what  you've  been 
waiting  for.  Well,  I'll  tell  you,  and  then  maybe 
you'll  be  glad  you  assisted  at  the  job." 

He  got  in  and  drove  off,  not  now  at  a  furious 
pace,  but  at  an  ordinary  rate  of  speed  which  made 
speech  possible.  And  after  a  little  he  spoke  again. 
"  Jord,"  he  said,  "you  don't  know  it,  but  I  can  be  a 
fiend  incarnate." 

"I  don't  believe  it,"  refused  King  stoutly. 

"It's  absolutely  true.  When  I  get  into  a  red  rage 
I  could  twist  a  neck  more  easily  than  I  can  get  a 
grip  on  myself.  Sometimes  I'm  afraid  I'll  do  it. 
Years  back  when  I  had  a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head 
of  that  sort  I  used  to  take  it  out  in  swearing  till  the 


220          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

atmosphere  was  blue;  but  I  can't  do  that  any 
more." 

"Why  not?"  King  asked,  with  a  good  deal  of 
curiosity. 

"I  did  it  once  too  often — and  the  last  time  I  sent 
a  dying  soul  to  the  other  world  with  my  curses  in 
its  ears — the  soul  of  a  child,  Jord.  I  lost  my  head 
because  his  mother  had  disobeyed  my  orders,  and 
the  little  life  was  going  out  when  it  might  have 
stayed.  When  I  came  to  myself  I  realized  what 
I'd  done — and  I  made  my  vow.  Never  again,  no 
matter  what  happened!  And  I've  kept  it.  But 

sometimes,  as  to-night Well,  there's  only  one 

thing  I  can  do:  keep  my  tongue  between  my  teeth 
as  long  as  I  can,  and  then — get  away  somewhere 
and  smash  things  till  I'm  black  and  blue." 

"That's  what  you've  been  doing  back  in  the 
woods?"  King  ventured  to  ask. 

"  Rather.  Anyhow,  it's  evened  up  my  circula 
tion  and  I  can  be  decent  again.  I'm  not  going  to 
tell  you  what  made  me  rage  like  the  bull  of 
Bashan,  for  it  wouldn't  be  safe  yet  to  let  loose  on 
that.  It's  enough  that  I  can  treat  a  good  comrade 
like  you  as  I  did  and  still  have  him  stand  by." 

"I  felt  a  good  deal  in  the  way,  but  I'm  glad  now 
I  was  with  you." 

"I'm  glad,  too,  if  it's  only  that  you've  dis 
covered  at  last  what  manner  of  man  I  am  when  the 


RED  HEADED  AGAIN  221 

evil  one  gets  hold  of  me.  None  of  us  likes  to  be  per 
sistently  overrated,  you  know." 

"I  don't  think  the  less  of  you  for  being  angry 
when  you  had  a  just  cause,  as  I  know  you  must 
have  had." 

"It's  not  the  being  angry;  it's  the  losing  con 
trol." 

"But  you  didn't." 

"Didn't  I?"  A  short,  grim  laugh  testified  to 
Burns's  opinion  on  this  point.  "Ask  that  woman  I 
put  on  the  train  to-night.  Jord,  on  her  arm  is  a 
black  bruise  where  I  gripped  her  when  she  lied  to 
me;  I  gripped  her — a  woman.  You  might  as  well 
know.  Now — keep  on  respecting  me  if  you  can." 

"But  I  do,"  said  Jordan  King. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
A  STRANGE  DAY 

EF,  will  you   go   for    a    day    in    the   woods 
with  me?" 
Ellen  Burns  looked  up  from  the  old  ma 
hogany   secretary   which   had    been   hers   in   the 
southern-home  days.      She  was  busily  writing  let 
ters,  but  the  request,  from  her  busy  husband,  was 
so  unusual  that  it  arrested  her  attention.       Her 
glance  travelled  from  his  face  to  the  window  and 
back  again. 

"I  know  it's  pretty  frosty,"  he  acknowledged, 
"but  the  sun  is  bright,  and  I'll  build  you  a  wind 
break  that'll  keep  you  snug.  I'm  aching  for  a  day 
off — with  you." 

"Artful  man!  You  know  I  can't  resist  when  you 
put  it  that  way,  though  I  ought  not  to  leave  this 
desk  for  two  hours.  Give  me  half  an  hour,  and  tell 
me  what  you  want  for  lunch." 

"Cynthia  and  I'll  take  care  of  that.  She's  put 
ting  up  the  stuff  now,  subject  to  your  approval." 

He  was  off  to  the  kitchen,  and  Ellen  finished  the 
note  she  had  begun,  put  away  the  writing  material" 

222 


A  STRANGE  DAY  223 

and  letters,  and  ran  up  to  her  room.  By  the  end 
of  the  stipulated  half  hour  she  was  down  again, 
trimly  clad  in  a  suit  of  brown  tweeds,  with  a  big 
coat  for  extra  warmth  and  a  close  hat  and  veil  for 
breeze  resistance. 

"That's  my  girl!  You  never  look  prettier  to  my 
eyes  than  when  you  are  dressed  like  this.  It's  the 
real  comrade  look  you  have  then,  and  I  feel  as  if 
we  were  shoulder  to  shoulder,  ready  for  anything 
that  might  come." 

"Just  as  if  it  weren't  always  that,"  she  said  in 
merry  reproach  as  she  took  her  place  beside  him 
and  the  car  rolled  off. 

"It's  always  great  fun  to  go  off  with  you  un 
expectedly  like  this,"  she  went  on  presently.  "It 
seems  so  long  since  we've  done  it.  It's  been  such 
a  busy  year.  Is  everybody  getting  well  to-day, 
that  you  can  manage  a  whole  day?" 

"All  but  one,  and  he  doesn't  need  me  just  now. 
I  could  keep  busy,  of  course,  but  I  got  a  sudden 
hankering  for  a  day  all  alone  with  you  in  the  woods; 
and  after  that  idea  once  struck  me  I'd  have  made 
way  for  it  anyhow,  short  of  actually  running  away 
from  duty." 

"You  need  it,  I  know.  We'll  just  leave  all  care 
behind  and  remember  nothing  except  how  happy 
we  are  to  be  together.  That  never  grows  old,  does 
k,  Red?" 


224          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"Never!"  He  spoke  almost  with  solemnity,  and 
gave  her  a  long  look  as  he  said  it,  which  she  met 
with  one  to  match  it.  "You  dear!"  he  murmured. 
"Len,  do  you  know  I  never  loved  you  so  well  as  I 
do  to-day?" 

"I  wonder  why?"  She  was  smiling,  and  her 
colour,  always  duskily  soft  in  her  cheek,  grew  a 
shade  warmer.  "Is  it  the  brown  tweeds?" 

"It's  the  brown  tweeds,  and  the  midnight-dark 
hair,  and  the  beautiful  black  eyes,  and — the  lovely 
soul  of  my  wife." 

"Why,  Red,  dear — and  all  this  so  early  in  the 
morning?  How  will  you  end  if  you  begin  like 
this?" 

"I  don't  know — or  care."  Something  strange 
looked  out  of  his  eyes  for  a  minute.  "  I  know  what 
I  want  to  say  now  and  I'm  saying  it.  So  much  of 
the  time  I'm  too  busy  to  make  love  to  my  wife, 
I'm  going  to  do  it  to-day — all  day.  I  warn  you 
now,  so  you  can  sidetrack  me  if  you  get  tired  of  it." 

"I'm  very  likely  to,"  she  said  with  a  gay  ten 
derness.  "To  have  you  make  love  to  me  without 
the  chance  of  a  telephone  call  to  break  in  will  be  a 
wonderful  treat." 

"It  sure  will  to  me." 

It  was  a  significant  beginning  to  a  strange  day. 
They  drove  for  twenty  miles,  to  find  a  certain 
place  upon  a  bluff  overlooking  a  small  lake  of  un- 


A  STRANGE  DAY  225 

usual  beauty,  far  out  of  the  way  of  the  ordinary 
motor  traveller.  They  climbed  a  steep  hill,  coming 
out  of  the  wooded  hillside  into  the  full  sunlight  of 
the  late  October  day,  where  spread  an  extended 
view  of  the  countryside,  brilliant  with  autumn 
foliage.  The  air  was  crisp  and  invigorating,  and  a 
decided  breeze  was  stirring  upon  this  lofty  point, 
so  that  the  windbreak  which  Burns  began  at  once 
to  build  was  a  necessary  protection  if  they  were  to 
remain  long. 

An  hour  of  hard  work,  at  which  Ellen  helped 
as  much  as  she  was  allowed,  established  a  snug 
camp,  its  back  against  a  great  bowlder,  its  wind 
ward  side  sheltered  by  a  thick  barrier  of  hemlocks 
cleverly  placed,  a  brisk  bonfire  burning  in  an  angle 
where  an  improvised  chimney  carried  off  its  smoke 
and  left  the  corner  clear  and  warm. 

"There!"  Burns  exclaimed  in  a  tone  of  satisfac 
tion  as  he  threw  himself  down  upon  the  pine  needle- 
strewn  ground  at  Ellen's  side.  "How's  this  for  a 
comfortable  nest?  Think  we  can  spend  six  con 
tented  hours  here,  my  honey?" 

"Six  days  if  you  like.     How  I  wish  we  could!" 

"So  do  I.  Jove,  how  I'd  like  it!  I  haven't  had 
enough  of  you  to  satisfy  me  for  many  a  moon.  And 
there's  no  trying  to  get  it,  except  by  running  away 
like  this." 

"We  ought  to  do  it  oftener." 


226         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"We  ought,  but  we  can't.  At  least  we  couldn't. 
Perhaps  now " 

He  broke  off,  staring  across  the  valley  where  the 
lake  lay  to  the  distant  hills,  smoky  blue  and  purple 
in  spite  of  the  clear  sunlight  which  lay  upon  them. 

" Perhaps  now — what?" 

"Well — I  might  not  be  able  to  keep  up  my  ac 
tivity  forever,  and  the  time  might  come  when  I 
should  have  to  take  less  work  and  more  rest." 

"But  you  said  'now." 

"  Did  I  ?  I  was  just  looking  ahead  a  bit.  Len, 
are  you  hungry,  or  shall  we  wait  a  while  for  lunch  ? " 

"Don't  you  want  a  little  sleep  before  you  eat? 
You  haven't  had  too  much  of  it  lately." 

"It  would  taste  rather  good — if  I  might  take  it 
with  my  head  in  your  lap." 

She  arranged  her  own  position  so  that  she  could 
maintain  it  comfortably,  and  he  extended  his  big 
form  at  full  length  upon  the  rug  he  had  brought  up 
from  the  car  and  upon  which  she  was  already  sit 
ting.  He  smiled  up  into  her  face  as  he  laid  his  head 
upon  her  knees,  and  drew  one  of  her  hands  into 
his.  "Now  your  little  boy  is  perfectly  content," 
he  said. 

It  was  an  hour  before  he  stirred,  an  hour  in 
which  Ellen's  eyes  had  silently  noted  that  which 
had  escaped  them  hitherto,  a  curious  change  in  his 


A  STRANGE  DAY  227 

colour  as  he  lay  with  closed  eyes,  a  thinness  of  the 
flesh  over  the  cheek  bones,  dark  shadows  beneath 
the  eyes.  Whether  he  slept  she  could  not  be  sure. 
But  when  he  sat  up  again  these  signs  of  wear  and 
tear  seemed  to  vanish  at  the  magic  of  his  smile, 
which  had  never  been  brighter.  Nevertheless  she 
watched  him  with  a  new  sense  of  anxiety,  wonder 
ing  if  there  might  really  be  danger  of  his  splendid 
physique  giving  way  before  the  rigour  of  his  life. 

She  noted  that  he  did  not  eat  heartily  at  lunch, 
though  he  professed  to  enjoy  it;  and  afterward  he 
was  his  old  boyish  self  for  a  long  time.  Then  he 
grew  quiet,  and  a  silence  fell  between  the  pair  while 
they  sat  looking  off  into  the  distance,  the  Octobei 
sunlight  on  their  heads. 

And  then,  quite  suddenly,  something  happened. 

''Red!  What  is  the  matter?"  Ellen  asked,  star 
tled. 

In  spite  of  the  summer  warmth  of  the  spot  in 
which  they  sat  her  husband's  big  frame  had  begun 
to  quiver  and  shake  before  her  very  eyes.  Evi 
dently  he  was  trying  hard  to  control  the  strange  fit 
of  shivering  which  had  seized  him. 

"Don't  be  s-scared,  d-dear,"  he  managed  to  get 
out  between  rigid  jaws.  "It's  just  a  bit  of  a  ch- 
chill.  I'll  b-be  all  right  in  a  m-minute." 

"In  all  this  sunshine?  Why,  Red!"  Ellen  caught 
up  the  big  coat  she  had  brought  to  the  place  and 


228          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

laid  it  about  his  shoulders — "you  must  have  taken 
cold.  But  how  could  you  ?  Come — we  must  go  at 
once." 

"N-not  just  yet.     I'll  g-get  over  this  s-soon." 

He  drew  his  arms  about  his  knees,  clasping 
them  and  doing  his  best  to  master  the  shivering, 
while  Ellen  watched  him  anxiously.  Never  in  her 
life  with  Red  had  she  seen  him  cold.  His  rugged 
frame,  accustomed  to  all  weathers,  hardened  by 
years  of  sleeping  beside  wide-opened  windows  in 
the  wintriest  of  seasons,  was  always  healthily 
glowing  with  warmth  when  others  were  frankly 
freezing. 

The  chill  was  over  presently,  but  close  upon  its 
heels  followed  reaction,  and  Red  Pepper's  face 
flushed  feverishly  as  he  said,  with  a  gallant  at 
tempt  at  a  smile:  "Sit  down  again  a  minute,  dear, 
while  I  tell  you  what  I'm  up  against.  I  wasn't 
sure,  but  this  looks  like  it.  You've  got  to  know 
now,  because  I'm  undoubtedly  in  for  a  bit  of 
trouble — and  that  means  you,  too." 

She  waited  silently,  but  her  hand  slipped  into 
his.  To  her  surprise  he  drew  it  gently  away.  "Try 
the  other  one,"  he  said.  "It's  in  better  shape  for 
holding." 

She  looked  down  at  the  hand  he  had  withdrawn 
and  which  now  lay  upon  his  knee.  It  was  the 
firmly  knit  and  sinewy  hand  she  knew  so  well,  the 


A  STRANGE  DAY  229 

typical  hand  of  the  surgeon  with  its  perfectly  kept, 
finely  sensitive  fingertips,  its  broad  and  powerful 
thumb,  its  strong  but  not  too  thick  wrist.  Not  a 
blemish  marked  its  fair  surface,  yet — was  it  very 
slightly  swollen?  She  could  hardly  be  sure. 

"Dear,  tell  me,"  she  begged.  "What  has  hap 
pened?  Are  you  hurt — or  ill — and  haven't  let  me 
know?" 

"I  thought  it  might  not  amount  to  anything;  it's 
only  a  scratch  in  the  palm.  But — 

"Red — did  you  get  it — operating?     On  what?" 

He  nodded.  "Operating.  It's  the  usual  way, 
the  thing  we  all  expect  to  get  some  day.  I've  been 
lucky  so  far;  that's  all." 

"But — you  didn't  give  yourself  a  scratch;  you 
never  have  done  that?" 

"No,  not  up  to  date  anyhow.  I  might  easily 
enough;  I  just  haven't  happened  to." 

"Amy  didn't?— She  couldn't!" 

"She  didn't — and  couldn't,  thank  heaven.  She'd 
kill  herself  if  she  ever  did  that  unlucky  trick.  No, 
she  wasn't  assisting  this  time.  It  was  an  emergency 
case,  early  yesterday  morning — one  of  the  other 
men  brought  in  the  case.  It  was  hopeless,  but  the 
family  wanted  us  to  ay." 

"What  sort  of  a  case,  Red?"  Ellen's  very  lips 
had  grown  white. 

"Now  see  here,  sweetheart,  I  had  to  tell  you  be- 


23o          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

cause  I  knew  I  was  in  for  a  little  trouble,  but  'there's 
no  need  of  your  knowing  any  more  than  this 
about  it.  It  was  just  an  accident — nobody's  fault. 
The  blamed  electric  lights  went  off — for  not  over 
ten  seconds,  but  it  was  the  wrong  ten  seconds.  I 
didn't  even  know  I  was  scratched  till  the  thing  be 
gan  to  set  up  a  row.  I  don't  even  yet  understand 
how  I  got  it  in  the  palm.  That's  unusual." 

"Who  did  it?" 

"I'm  not  going  to  tell  you.  He  feels  badly 
enough  now,  and  it  wasn't  his  fault.  He  asked  me 
at  the  time  if  he  had  touched  me  in  the  dark  and  I 
said  no.  It  was  as  slight  a  thing  as  that.  If  we'd 
known  it  at  the  time  we'd  have  fixed  it  up.  We 
didn't,  and  that's  all  there  was  to  it." 

"You  must  tell  me  what  sort  of  a  case  it  was, 
Red." 

He  looked  down  at  her.  The  two  pairs  of  eyes 
met  unflinchingly  for  a  minute,  and  each  saw 
straight  into  the  depths  of  the  other.  Burns 
thought  the  eyes  into  which  he  gazed  had  never 
been  more  beautiful;  stabbed  though  they  were 
now  with  intense  shock,  they  were  yet  speaking  to 
him  such  utter  love  as  it  is  not  often  in  the  power 
of  man  to  inspire. 

He  managed  still  to  talk  lightly.  "I  expect  you 
know.  What's  the  use  of  using  scientific  terms? 
The  case  was  rottenly  septic;  never  mind  the 


A  STRANGE  DAY  231 

cause.  But — I'm  going  to  be  able  to  throw  the 
thing  off.  Just  give  me  time." 

"Let  me  see  it,  Red." 

Reluctantly  he  turned  the  hand  over,  showing 
the  small  spot  in  which  was  quite  clearly  the  begin 
ning  of  trouble.  "Doesn't  look  like  much,  does 
it?"  he  said. 

"And  it  is  not  even  protected." 

"What  was  the  use?  The  infection  came  at  the 
time." 

"And  you  did  all  that  work  in  the  windbreak. 
Oh,  you  ought  not  to  have  done  that!" 

"Nonsense,  dear.  I  wanted  to,  and  I  did  it 
mostly  with  my  left  hand  anyhow." 

"Your  blood  must  be  of  the  purest,"  she  said 
steadily. 

"It  sure  is.  I  expect  I'll  get  my  reward  now  for 
letting  some  things  alone  that  many  men  care  for, 
and  that  I  might  have  cared  for,  too — if  it  hadn't 
been  for  my  mother — and  my  wife." 

"You  are  strong — strong." 

"I  am— a  regular  Titan.  Yes,  we'll  fight  this 
thing  through  somehow;  only  I  have  to  warn  you 
it'll  likely  be  a  fight.  I'll  go  to  the  hospital." 

"No!"     It  was  a  cry. 

"No?  Better  think  about  that.  Hospital's  the 
best  place  for  such  cases." 

"It  can't  be  better  than  home — when  it's  liLe 


232         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

ours.  We?ll  fight  our  fight  there,  Red — and  no 
where  else." 

He  put  one  hand  to  his  arm  suddenly  with  an 
involuntary  movement  and  a  contraction  of  the 
brow.  But  in  the  next  breath  he  was  smiling 
again.  "Perhaps  we'd  better  be  getting  back,"  he 
admitted.  "My  head's  beginning  to  be  a  trifle  un 
steady.  But  I'm  glad  a  thousand  times  we've  had 
this  day/' 

"Was  it  wise  to  take  it,  dear?" 

"  I'm  sure  of  it.  What  difference  could  it  make  ? 
Now  we've  had  it — to  remember." 

She  shivered,  there  in  the  warm  October  sun 
light.  A  chill  seemed  suddenly  to  have  come  into 
the  air,  and  to  have  struck  her  heart. 

No  more  words  passed  between  them  until  they 
were  almost  home.  Then  Ellen  said,  very  quietly: 
"Red,  would  you  be  any  safer  in  the  hospital  than 
at  home  ? " 

"Not  safer,  but  where  it  would  be  easier  for  all 
concerned,  in  case  things  get  rather  thick." 

"Easier  for  you,  too?" 

He  looked  at  her.  "Do  I  have  to  speak  the 
truth?" 

"You*  must.    If  you  would  rather  be  there " 

"I  would  rather  be  as  near  you  as  I  can  stay. 
There's  no  use  denying  that.  But  Van  Horn  wants 
me  at  the  hospital." 


A  STRANGE  DAY  233 

"Is  he  to  look  after  you?" 

"Yes.  Queer,  isn't  it?  But  he  wants  the  job. 
No,"  at  the  unspoken  question  in  her  face,  "it 
wasn't  Van.  But  he  came  in  just  as  the  trouble 
began  to  show  and — well,  you  know  we're  the  best 
of  friends  now,  and  I  think  I'd  rather  have  him— 
and  Buller,  good  old  Buller — than  anybody  else." 

"Oh,  but  you  won't  need  them  both?"  she  cried, 
and  then  bit  her  lip. 

"Of  course  not.  But  you  know  how  the  profes 
sion  are — if  one  of  them  gets  down  they  all  fall 
over  one  another  to  offer  their  services." 

"They  may  all  offer  them,  but  they  will  have  to 
come  to  you.  You  are  going  to  stay  at  home.  You 
shall  have  the  big  guest  room — made  as  you  want 
it.  Just  tell  me  what  to  do — 

"You  may  as  well  strip  it,"  he  told  her  quietly. 
"And — Len,  I'd  rather  be  right  there  than  any 
where  else  in  the  world.  I  think,  when  it's  ready, 
I'll  just  go  to  bed.  I'd  bluff  a  bit  longer  if  I  could, 
but — perhaps — 

"I'm  sure  you  ought,"  she  said  as  quietly  as  he. 
But  she  was  very  glad  when  the  car  turned  in  at 
the  driveway. 


XV 

CLEARED  DECKS 

(WO  hours  later,  under  her  direction  and 
with  her  efficient  help,  Cynthia  and 
Johnny  Carruthers  in  medical  parlance 
had  "stripped"  the  guest  room,  putting  it  into  the 
cleared  bare  order  most  useful  for  the  purpose 
needed.  If  Ellen's  heart  was  heavy  as  she  saw  the 
change  made  she  let  nothing  show.  And  when, 
presently,  she  called  her  husband  from  the  couch 
where  he  had  lain,  feverish  and  beginning  to  be  tor 
tured  by  pain,  and  put  him  between  the  cool,  fresh 
sheets,  she  had  her  reward  in  the  look  he  gave,  first 
at  the  room  and  then  at  her. 

"Decks  all  cleared  for  action,"  he  commented 
with  persistent  cheerfulness,  "and  the  captain  on 
deck.  Well — let  them  begin  to  fire;  we're  ready. 
All  I  know  is  that  I'm  glad  I'm  on  your  ship.  Just 
pray,  Len,  will  you — that  I  keep  my  nerve?" 

This  was  the  beginning,  as  Burns  himself  had 
foreseen,  of  that  which  proved  indeed  to  be  a  long 
fight.  Strong  of  physique  though  he  unquestion 
ably  was,  pure  as  was  the  blood  which  flowed  in  his 

234 


CLEARED  DECKS  235 

veins,  the  poison  he  had  received  unwittingly  and 
therefore  taken  no  immediate  measures  to  combat 
was  able  to  overcome  his  powers  of  resistance  and 
take  shattering  hold  upon  his  whole  organism. 
There  followed  day  after  day  and  week  after  week 
of  prostrating  illness,  during  which  he  suffered 
much  torturing  pain  in  the  affected  hand  and  arm, 
with  profound  depression  of  mind  and  body, 
though  he  bore  both  as  bravely  as  was  to  have  been 
expected.  Two  nurses,  Amy  Mathewson  and 
Selina  Arden,  alternated  in  attendance  upon  him, 
day  and  night,  and  Ellen  herself  was  always  at 
hand  to  act  as  substitute,  or  to  share  in  the  care  of 
the  patient  when  it  was  more  than  ordinarily  ex 
acting. 

As  she  watched  the  powerful  form  of  her  hus 
band  grow  daily  weaker  before  the  assaults  of  one 
of  the  most  treacherous  enemies  modern  science 
has  to  face,  she  felt  herself  in  the  grip  of  a  great 
dread  which  could  not  be  for  an  hour  thrown  off. 
She  did  not  let  go  of  her  courage;  but  beneath  all 
her  serenity  of  manner— remarked  often  in  wonder 
by  the  nurses  and  physicians — lay  the  fear  which 
at  times  amounted  to  a  conviction  that  for  her  had 
come  the  end  of  earthly  happiness. 

She  was  able  to  appreciate  none  the  less  the  de 
voted  and  skillful  attention  given  to  Burns  by  his 
colleagues.  Dr.  Max  Duller  had  long  been  his  at- 


236          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

tached  friend  and  ally,  and  of  him  such  service  as 
he  now  rendered  was  to  have  been  counted  on. 
But  concerning  Dr.  James  Van  Horn,  although 
Ellen  well  knew  how  deeply  he  felt  in  Burns's  debt 
for  having  in  all  probability  saved  his  life  only  a 
few  months  earlier,  she  had  had  no  notion  what 
he  had  to  offer  in  return.  She  had  not  imagined 
how  warm  a  heart  really  lay  beneath  that  polished 
urbanity  of  manner  with  its  suggestion  of  coldness 
in  the  very  tone  of  his  voice — hitherto.  She  grew 
to  feel  a  distinct  sense  of  relief  and  dependence 
every  time  he  entered  the  door,  and  his  visits  were 
so  many  that  it  came  to  seem  as  if  his  motor  were 
always  standing  at  the  curb. 

"You  know,  Len,  Van's  a  tremendous  trump," 
Burns  himself  said  to  her  suddenly,  in  the  middle  of 
one  trying  night  when  Doctor  Van  Horn  had  looked 
in  unexpectedly  to  see  if  he  might  ease  his  patient 
and  secure  him  a  chance  of  rest  after  many  hours 
of  pain.  "It  seems  like  a  queer  dream,  sometimes, 
to  open  my  eyes  and  see  him  sitting  there,  looking 
at  me  as  if  I  were  a  younger  brother  and  he  cared 
a  lot.'* 

"He  does  care,"  Ellen  answered  positively. 
"You  would  be  even  surer  of  it  if  you  could  hear 
him  talk  with  me  alone.  He  speaks  of  you  as  if  he 
loved  you — and  what  is  there  strange  about  that  ? 
Everybody  loves  you,  Red.  I'm  keeping  a  list  of 


CLEARED  DECKS  237 

the  people  who  come  to  ask  about  you  and  send 
you  things.  You  haven't  heard  of  half  of  them. 
And  to-day  Franz  telephoned  to  offer  to  come  and 
play  for  you  some  night  when  you  couldn't  sleep 
with  the  pain.  He  begged  to  be  allowed  to  do  the 
one  thing  he  could  to  show  his  sympathy." 

"Bless  his  heart!  I'd  like  to  hear  him.  I  often 
wish  my  ears  would  stretch  to  reach  him  in  his 
orchestra."  Burns  moved  restlessly  as  he  spoke. 
A  fresh  invasion  of  trouble  in  his  hand  and  arm 
was  reaching  a  culmination,  and  no  palliative 
measures  could  ease  him  long.  "You've  no  idea, 
Len,"  he  whispered  as  Ellen's  hand  strayed 
through  his  heavy  coppery  locks  with  the  soothing 
touch  he  loved  well,  "what  it  means  to  me  to  have 
you  stand  by  me  like  this.  If  I  give  in  now  it 
won't  be  for  want  of  your  supporting  courage." 

"It's  you  who  have  the  courage,  Red — wonder 
ful  courage." 

He  shook  his  head.  "It's  just  the  thought  of 
you — and  the  Little-Un — and  Bobby  Burns— 
that's  all.  If  it  wasn't  for  you 

He  turned  away  his  head.  She  knew  the  thing 
he  had  to  fear — the  thing  she  feared  for  him. 
Though  his  very  life  was  in  danger  it  was  not  that 
which  made  the  threatening  depths  of  black 
shadow  into  which  he  looked.  If  he  should  come 
out  of  this  fight  with  a  crippled  right  hand  there 


238          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

<, 
would  be  no  more  work  for  him  about  which  he 

could  care.  Neither  Van  Horn  nor  Buller  would 
admit  that  there  was  danger  of  this;  but  Grayson, 
who  had  seen  the  hand  yesterday;  Fields,  who  was 
making  blood  counts  for  the  case;  Lenhart  and 
Stevenson,  who  had  come  to  make  friendly  calls 
every  few  days  and  who  knew  from  Fields  how 
things  were  going — all  were  shaking  their  heads' 
and  saying  in  worried  tones  that  it  looked  pretty 
"owly"  for  the  hand,  and  that  Van  Horn  and  Bui 
ler  would  do  well  if  they  pulled  Burns  through  at  all 

Outside   of  the    profession    Jordan    King   wa; 
closest  in  touch  with  Burns's  case.    He  persistently 
refused  to  believe  that  all  would  not  come  out  as 
they  desired.     He  came  daily,  brought  all  sorts  of 
offerings  for  the  patient's  comfort,  and  always  ran 
up  to  see  his  friend,  hold  his  left  hand  for  a  minute 
and  smile  at  him,  without  a  hint  in  his  ruddy  face  of 
the  wrench  at  the  heart  he  experienced  each  time  at 
sight  of  the  steadily  increasing  devastation  showing 
in  the  face  on  the  pillow. 

"You're  a  trump,  Jord,"  Burns  said  weakly  to 
him  one  morning.  King  had  just  finished  a  heart 
warming  report  of  certain  messages  brought 
from  some  of  Burns's  old  chronic  patients  in 
the  hospital  wards,  where  it  was  evident  the  young 
man  had  gone  on  purpose  to  collect  them.  "  Every 
time  I  look  at  you  I  think  what  an  idiot  I  was  ever 


CLEARED  DECKS  239 

to  imagine  you  needed  me  to  put  backbone  into 
you,  last  spring." 

"  But  I  did — and  you  did  it.  And  if  you  think  I 
showed  more  backbone  to  go  through  a  thing  that 
hardly  took  it  out  of  me  at  all  than  you  to  stand 
this  devilish  slow  torture  and  weakness — well,  it 
just  shows  you've  lost  your  usual  excellent  judg 
ment.  See?" 

"I  see  that  you're  one  of  the  best  friends  a  man 
ever  had.  There's  only  one  other  who  could  do  as 
much  to  keep  my  head  above  water — and  he  isn't 
here." 

"Why  isn't  he?  Who  is  he?"  demanded  King 
eagerly.  "Tell  me  and  I'll  get  him." 

"No,  no.  He  could  do  no  more  than  is  being 
done.  I  merely  get  to  thinking  of  him  and  wishing 
I  could  see  him.  It's  my  old  friend  and  chum  of 
college  days,  John  Leaver,  of  Baltimore." 

"The  big  surgeon  I've  heard  you  and  Mrs. 
Burns  speak  of?  Great  heavens,  he'd  come  in  a 
minute  if  he  knew!" 

"I've  no  doubt  he  wTould,  but  I  happen  to  know 
he's  abroad  just  now." 

King  studied  his  friend's  face,  saw  that  Burns 
was  already  weary  with  the  brief  visit,  and  soon 
went  away.  But  it  was  to  a  consultation  with  Mrs. 
Burns  as  to  the  possibility  of  communicating  with 
Doctor  Leaver. 


240         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"I  wrote  his  wife  not  long  ago  of  Red's  illness," 
Ellen  said,  "but  I  didn't  state  all  the  facts;  some 
how  I  couldn't  bring  myself  to  do  that.  They  are 
in  London;  they  go  over  every  winter.  I  had  a  card 
only  yesterday  from  Charlotte  giving  a  new  address 
and  promising  to  write  soon." 

"Wasn't  he  the  man  you  told  me  of  who  had  a 
bad  nervous  breakdown  a  few  years  ago?  The  one 
Red  had  stay  with  you  here  until  he  got  back  his 
nerve  ? " 

"Yes;  and  he  has  been  even  a  more  brilliant 
operator  ever  since." 

"I  remember  the  whole  story;  there  was  a  lot  of 
thrill  in  it  as  you  told  it.  How  Red  made  him  rest 
and  build  up  and  then  fairly  forced  him  to  operate, 
against  his  will,  to  prove  to  him  that  he  had  got 
his  nerve  back?  Jove!  Do  you  think  that 
man  wouldn't  cross  the  ocean  in  a  hurry  if  he 
thought  he  could  lift  his  -finger  to  help  our  poor 
boy?" 

King's  speech  had  taken  on  such  a  fatherly  tone 
of  late  that  Ellen  was  not  surprised  to  hear  him 
thus  allude  to  his  senior. 

"Yes,  Jack  Leaver  would  do  anything  for  Red, 
but  I  know  Red  would  never  let  us  summon  him 
from  so  far." 

"Summon  him  from  the  antipodes — I  would. 
And  we  don't  have  to  consult  Red.  His  wish  is 


CLEARED  DECKS  241 

enough.  Leave  it  to  me,  Mrs.  Burns;  I'll  take  all 
the  responsibility." 

She  smiled  at  him,  feeling  that  she  must  not 
express  the  very  natural  and  unwelcome  thought 
that  to  call  a  friend  from  so  far  away  was  to  admit 
that  the  situation  was  desperate.  Burns  had  said 
many  times  that  Doctor  Van  Horn  was  using  the 
very  latest  and  most  acceptable  methods  for  his  re 
lief,  and  that  his  confidence  in  him  was  absolute. 
None  the  less  she  knew  that  the  very  sight  of  John 
Leaver's  face  would  be  like  that  of  a  shore  light  to  a 
ship  groping  in  a  heavy  fog. 

Within  twenty-four  hours  Jordan  King  came 
dashing  in  to  wave  a  cable  message  before  her. 
"Read  that,  and  thank  heaven  that  you  have  such 
friends  in  the  world." 

At  a  glance  her  eyes  took  in  the  pregnant  line, 
and  the  first  tears  she  had  shed  leaped  to  her  eyes 
and  misted  them,  so  that  she  had  to  wipe  them 
away  to  read  the  welcome  words  again. 


We  sail  Saturday.     Love  to  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Burns. 

LEAVER. 


A  week  later,  Burns,  waking  from  an  uneasy 
slumber,  opened  his  eyes  upon  a  new  figure  at  his 
bedside.  For  a  moment  he  stared  uncomprehend 
ing  into  the  dark,  distinguished  face  of  his  old 


242          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

friend,  then  put  out  his  uninjured  hand  with  a 
weak  clutch. 

"Are  you  real,  Jack  ? "  he  demanded  in  a  whisper. 

"As  real  as  that  bedpost.  And  mighty  glad  to 
see  you,  my  dear  boy.  They  tell  me  the  worst  is 
over,  and  that  you're  improving.  That's  worth  the 
journey  to  see." 

"You  didn't  come  from — England?" 

"Of  course  I  did.  I'd  come  from  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  you  know  it!  Why  in  the  name  of 
friendship  didn't  somebody  send  me  word  be 
fore?" 

"Who  sent  it  now?" 

"That's  a  secret.  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  do  some 
thing  for  you,  Red,  just  to  even  up  the  score  a  little, 
but  the  thing  that's  really  been  done  has  been  by 
yourself.  You  put  your  own  clean  blood  into  this 
tussle  and  it's  brought  you  through." 

"I  don't  feel  so  very  far  through  yet,  but  I  sup 
pose  I'm  not  quite  so  much  of  a  dead  fish  as  I  was  a 
week  ago.  There's  only  one  thing  that  bothers 
me." 

"I  can  guess.  Well,  Red,  I  saw  Doctor  Van  Horn 
on  my  way  upstairs,  and  he  tells  me  you're  going  to 
get  a  good  hand  out  of  this.  He'll  be  up  shortly  to 
dress  it,  and  then  I  may  see  for  myself." 

"That  will  be  a  comfort.  I've  wished  a  thousand 
times  you  might,  though  nobody  could  have  given 


CLEARED  DECKS  243 

me  better  care  than  these  bully  fellows  have.  But 
I've  a  sort  of  superstition  that  one  look  at  trouble 
from  Jack  Leaver  is  enough  to  make  it  cut  and 
run." 

By  and  by  Dr.  John  Leaver  came  downstairs  and 
joined  his  wife  and  Ellen.  His  face  was  grave  with 
its  habitual  expression,  but  it  lighted  as  the  two 
looked  up.  "He's  had  about  as  rough  a  time  as  a 
man  can  and  weather  it,"  he  said;  "but  I  think  the 
trouble  is  cornered  at  last,  and  there'll  be  no  further 
outbreak.  And  the  hand  will  come  out  better  than 
could  have  been  expected.  He  will  be  able  to  use  it 
perfectly  in  time.  But  it  will  take  him  a  good  while 
to  build  up.  He  must  have  a  sea  voyage — a  long 
one.  That  will  do  you  all  kinds  of  good,  too,"  he 
added,  his  keen  eyes  on  the  face  of  his  friend's  wife. 

"She  looks  etherealized,"  Charlotte  Leaver 
said,  studying  Ellen  affectionately.  "You've  had 
a  long,  anxious  time,  haven't  you,  Len,  darling?" 
Mrs.  Leaver  went  on.  "And  we  knew  nothing — we 
who  care  more  than  anybody  in  the  world.  You 
can't  imagine  how  glad  we  are  to  be  here  now,  even 
though  we  can't  help  a  bit." 

"You  can  help,  you  do.  And  I  know  what  it 
means  to  Red  to  have  his  beloved  friend  come  to 
him." 

"Then  I  hope  you  know  what  it  means  to  me  to 
come,"  said  John  Leaver. 


244         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

The  Leavers  stayed  for  several  days,  while  Burns 
continued  to  improve,  and  before  they  left  they 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  up  and  partially 
dressed,  the  bandages  on  his  injured  hand  reduced 
in  extent,  and  his  eyes  showing  his  release  from 
torture.  His  face  and  figure  gave  touching  evidence 
of  what  he  had  endured,  but  he  promised  them 
that  before  they  saw  him  again  he  would  be  looking 
like  himself. 

"I  wonder,"  Burns  said,  on  the  March  day  when 
he  first  came  downstairs  and  dropped  into  his  old 
favourite  place  in  a  corner  of  the  big  blue  couch, 
"whether  any  other  fellow  was  ever  so  pampered 
as  I.  I  look  like  thirty  cents,  but  I  feel,  in  spite  of 
this  abominable  limpness,  as  if  my  stock  were 
worth  a  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar.  And  when 
we  get  back  from  the  ocean  trip  I  expect  to  be  a 
regular  fighting  Fijian." 

"You  look  better  every  day,  dear,"  Ellen  assured 
him.  "And  when  it's  all  over,  and  you  have  done 
your  first  operation,  you'll  come  home  and  say 
you  were  never  so  happy  in  your  life." 

Burns  laughed.  He  looked  over  at  Jordan  King, 
who  had  come  in  on  purpose  to  help  celebrate 
the  event  of  the  appearance  downstairs.  "She 
promises  me  an  operation  as  she  would  promise  the 
Little-Un  a  sweetie,  eh  ?  Well,  I  can't  say  she  isn't 
right.  I  was  a  bit  tired  when  this  thing  began,  but 


CLEARED  DECKS  245 

when  I  get  my  strength  back  I  know  how  my  little 
old  'lab'  and  machine  shop  will  call  to  me.  Just 
to-day  I  got  an  idea  in  my  head  that  I  believe 
will  work  out  some  day.  My  word,  I  know  it 
will!" 

The  other  two  looked  at  each  other,  smiling 
joyously. 

"He's  getting  well,"  said  Ellen  Burns. 

"No  doubt  of  it  in  the  world,"  agreed  Jordan 
King. 

"Sit  down  here  where  I  can  look  at  you  both," 
commanded  the  convalescent.  "Jord,  isn't  my 
wife  something  to  look  at  in  that  blue  frock  she's 
'vearing?  I  like  these  things  she  melts  into  even 
ings,  like  that  smoky  blue  she  has  on  now.  It  seems 
to  satisfy  my  eyes." 

"Not  much  wonder  in  that.  She  would  satisfy 
anybody's  eyes." 

"That's  quite  enough  about  me,"  Ellen  de 
clared.  "The  thing  that's  really  interesting  is  that 
your  eyes  are  brighter  to-night,  Red,  than  they 
have  been  for  two  long  months.  I  believe  it's 
getting  downstairs." 

"Of  course  it  is.  Downstairs  has  been  a  mythical 
sort  of  place  for  a  good  while.  I  couldn't  quite  be 
lieve  in  it.  I've  thought  a  thousand  times  of  this 
blue  couch  and  these  pillows.  I've  thought  of  that 
old  grand  piano  of  yours,  and  of  how  it  would  seem 


246          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

to  hear  you  play  it  again.  Play  for  me  now,  will 
you,  Len?" 

She  sat  down  in  her  old  place,  and  his  eyes 
matched  her  hungrily,  as  King  could  plainly  see. 
To  the  younger  man  the  love  between  these  two 
was  something  to  study  and  believe  in,  something  to 
hope  for  as  a  wonderful  possibility  in  his  own  case. 

When  Ellen  stopped  playing  Burns  spoke 
musingly.  Speech  seemed  a  necessity  for  him  to 
night — happiness  overflowed  and  must  find  ex 
pression. 

"I've  had  a  lot  of  stock  advice  for  my  patients 
that'll  mean  something  I  understand  for  myself 
now,"  he  said.  He  sat  almost  upright  among  the 
blue  pillows,  his  arm  outstretched  along  the  back 
of  the  couch,  his  long  legs  comfortably  extended, 
It  was  no  longer  the  attitude  of  the  invalid  but  of 
the  well  man  enjoying  earned  repose.  "I  wonder 
how  often  I've  said  to  some  tired  mother  or  too- 
busy  housewife  who  longed  for  rest:  'If  you  were 
to  become  crippled  or  even  forbidden  to  work  any 
more  and  made  to  rest  for  good,  how  happy  these 
past  years  would  seem  to  you  when  you  were  tired 
because  you  had  accomplished  something.'  I  can 
say  that  now  with  personal  conviction  of  its  truth. 
It  looks  to  me  as  if  to  come  in  dog-tired  and  drop 
into  this  corner  with  the  memory  of  a  good  job  done 
would  be  the  best  fun  I've  ever  had." 


CLEARED  DECKS  247 

"I  know,"  King  nodded.  "I  learned  that,  too, 
last  spring." 

"Of  course  you  did.  And  now,  instead  of  going 
to  work,  I've  got  to  take  this  blamed  sea  voyage 
of  a  month.  Van  and  Leaver  are  pretty  hard  on  me, 
don't  you  think?  The  consolation  in  that,  though, 
is  that  my  wife  needs  it  quite  as  much  as  I  do.  I 
want  to  tan  those  cheeks  of  hers.  Len,  will  you 
wear  the  brown  tweeds  on  shipboard?" 

"Of  course  I  will.  How  your  mind  seems  to  run 
to  clothes  to-night.  What  will  Your  Highness  wear 
himself?" 

"The  worst  old  clothes  I  can  find.  Then  when  I 
get  back  I'll  go  to  the  tailor's  and  start  life  all  over 
again,  with  the  neatest  lot  of  stuff  he  can  make  me 
— a  regular  honeymoon  effect."  Burns  laughed, 
lifting  his  chin  with  the  old  look  of  purpose  and 
power  touching  his  thin  face. 

"I'm  happy  to-night,"  he  went  on;  "there's  no 
use  denying  it.  I'm  not  sorry,  now  it's  over,  I've 
had  this  experience,  for  I've  learned  some  things 
I've  never  known  before  and  wouldn't  have  found 
out  any  other  way.  I  know  now  what  it  means  to 
be  down  where  life  doesn't  seem  worth  much,  and 
how  it  feels  to  have  the  other  fellow  trying  to  pull 
you  out.  I  know  how  the  whisper  of  a  voice  you 
love  sounds  to  you  in  the  middle  of  a  black  night, 
when  you  think  you  can't  bear  another  minute  of 


248          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

pain.  Oh,  I  know  a  lot  of  things  I  can't  talk  about, 
but  they'll  make  a  difference  in  the  future.  If 
I  don't  have  more  patience  with  my  patients  it'll 
be  because  memory  is  a  treacherous  thing,  and  I've 
forgotten  what  I  have  no  business  to  forget — be 
cause  the  good  Lord  means  me  to  remember!" 


CHAPTER  XVI 
WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN 

IT  WAS  the  first  day  of  May.  Burns  and  Ellen 
had  not  been  at  home  two  days  after  their 
return  from  the  long,  slow  sea  voyage  which 
had  done  wonders  for  them  both,  when  Burns  re 
ceived  a  long-distance  message  which  sent  him 
to  his  wife  with  his  eyes  sparkling  in  the  old 
way. 

"Great  luck,  Len!"  he  announced.  "I'm  to  get 
my  first  try-out  in  operating,  after  the  late  un 
pleasantness,  on  an  out-of-town  case.  Off  in  an 
hour  with  Amy  for  a  place  two  hundred  miles 
away  in  a  spot  I  never  heard  of — promises  to  be  in 
teresting.  Anyhow,  I  feel  like  a  small  boy  with  his 
first  kite,  likely  to  go  straight  off  the  ground  hitched 
to  the  tail  of  it." 

"I'm  glad  for  you,  Red.  And  I  wish" — she  bit 
her  lip  and  turned  away—  "it  may  be  a  wonderful 
case." 

"That's  not  what  you  started  to  say."  He 
came  close,  laid  a  hand  on  either  side  of  her  face, 
and  turned  it  up  so  that  he  could  look  into  it,  his 


25o          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

lips  smiling.  "Tell  me.  I'll  wager  I  know  what 
you  wish." 

"No,  you  can't." 

"That  you  could  go  with  me — to  take  Amy's 
place  and  assist." 

A  flood  of  colour  poured  over  her  face,  such  a 
telltale,  significant  colour  as  he  had  rarely  seen 
there  before.  She  would  have  concealed  it  from 
him,  but  he  was  merciless.  A  strange,  happy  look 
came  into  his  own  face.  "  Len,  don't  hide  that  from 
me.  It's  the  one  thing  I've  always  wished  you'd 
show,  and  you  never  have.  I'm  such  a  jealous 
beggar  myself  I've  wanted  you  to  care — that  way, 
and  I've  never  been  able  to  discover  a  trace  of  it." 

"  But  I'm  not  really  jealous  in  the  way  you  think. 
How  could  I  be  ? — with  not  the  slightest  cause.  It'r 
only — envy  of  Amy  because  she  is — so  necessary 
to  you.  O  Red,  I  never,  never  meant  to  say  it!" 

"I'd  rather  hear  you  say  it  than  anything  else  on 
earth.  I'd  like  to  hear  you  own  that  you  were  mad 
with  jealousy,  because  I've  been  eaten  up  with  it 
myself  ever  since  I  first  laid  eyes  on  you.  Not  that 
you've  ever  given  me  a  reason  for  it,  but  because 
it's  my  red-headed  nature.  Now  I  must  go;  but 
I'll  take  your  face  with  me,  my  Len,  and  if  I  do  a 
good  piece  of  work  it'll  be  for  love  of  you." 

"And  of  your  work,  Red.  I'm  not  jealous  of 
that;  I'm  too  proud  of  it." 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  251 

"I  know  you  are,  bless  you." 

Then  he  was  off,  all  his  old  vigour  showing  in  his 
preparations  for  the  hurried  trip,  and  as  he  went 
away  Ellen  felt  as  might  those  on  shore  watching 
a  lusty  life-saver  put  off  in  a  boat  to  pull  for  a  sink 
ing  ship. 

Burns  and  Amy  Mathewson  were  away  three 
days,  during  which  Red  kept  Ellen  even  more 
closely  in  touch  with  himself  than  usual,  by  means 
of  the  long  wire.  When  he  returned  it  was  with  the 
bearing  of  a  conqueror,  for  the  case  had  tried  his 
regained  mettle  and  he  had  triumphed  more  surely 
than  he  could  have  hoped. 

"The  hand's  as  good  as  new,  Len,  and  the  touch 
not  a  particle  affected.  Van's  a  trump,  and  I 
stopped  on  the  way  out  to  tell  him  so.  He  was 
pleased  as  a  boy;  think  of  it,  Len — my  ancient 
enemy  and  my  new  good  friend!  And  the  case  is 
fine  as  silk.  They've  a  good  local  man  to  look  after 
it  till  I  come  again,  which  will  be  Thursday.  And 
I'm  going  to  drive  there — and  take  you — and  Jord 
King  and  Jord's  mother.  How's  that  for  a 
plan?" 

"It  sounds  very  jolly,  Red,  but  will  the  Kings 
go  ?  And  why  Mrs.  King  ?  Will  she  care  to  ? " 

"Because  I've  found  some  old  friends  of  hers  in 
the  place,  though  I'll  not  tell  her  whom.  Besides, 


252          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

I  want  to  keep  on  her  right  side,  for  reasons.  And 
Jord's  back  has  been  bothering  him  lately  and  I've 
prescribed  a  rest.  We'll  take  the  Kings'  limousine 
and  go  in  state.  It'll  be  arranged  in  five  minutes, 
see  if  it  won't.  By  the  way,  Jord  says  Aleck's  new 
arm  is  really  going  to  do  him  some  service  besides 
improving  his  looks." 

He  pulled  her  away  to  the  telephone  and  held  her 
on  his  knee  while  he  talked  to  Jordan  King,  giving 
her  a  laughing  hug,  when,  to  judge  by  the  things  he 
was  saying  into  the  transmitter,  he  had  brought 
about  his  effect. 

"Yes,  I  know  I  sound  crazy,"  he  admitted  to 
King,  "but  you  must  give  something  to  a  man  who 
has  been  buried  alive  and  dug  up  again.  I've  taken 
this  notion  and  I'm  going  to  carry  it  through.  Mrs. 
King  will  enjoy  every  foot  of  the  way,  and  you  and 
I  will  jump  out  and  pick  apple  blossoms  for  the 
ladies  whenever  they  ask.  It's  a  peach  of  a  plan, 
and  the  whole  idea  is  to  minister  to  my  pride.  I 
want  to  arrive  in  a  great  prince  of  a  car  like  yours 
and  impress  the  natives  down  there.  See?  Yes, 
go  and  put  it  up  to  your  mother,  and  then  call  me 
up.  Don't  you  dare  say  no!" 

"No  wonder  he's  astonished,"  Ellen  com 
mented  while  they  waited.  "For  you,  who  are 
never  content  except  when  you're  at  the  steering 
wheel,  to  ask  Jordan,  who  is  another  just  like  you, 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  253 

to  elect  to  travel  in  a  limousine  with  a  liveried 
chauffeur — well,  I  admit  I  am  puzzled  myself." 

"Why,  it's  simple  enough.  I  want  to  take  you 
and  Mrs.  Alexander  King.  She  wouldn't  go  a  step 
in  Jord's  roadster  at  his  pace.  And  if  she  would, 
and  we  went  in  pairs,  Jord  would  be  always  want 
ing  to  change  off  and  take  you  with  him — and  as 
you  very  well  know  I'm  not  made  that  way.  Stop 
guessing,  Len,  and  prepare  yourself  to  break  down 
Mrs.  King's  opposition,  if  she  makes  any — which 
I  don't  expect." 

Mrs.  King  made  no  opposition,  or  none  which 
her  son  thought  best  to  convey  to  the  Burnses,  and 
the  trip  was  arranged. 

"Is  there  a  good  hotel  in  the  place?"  Ellen 
asked. 

"No  hotel  within  miles — nor  anything  else. 
We're  to  stay  overnight  with  the  family.  You 
won't  mind.  They  can  put  us  up  pretty  comfort 
ably,  even  if  not  just  as  we're  accustomed  to  be." 
Burns's  eyes  were  twinkling,  and  he  refused  to  say 
more  on  the  subject. 

It  did  not  matter.  It  was  early  May,  and  the 
world  was  a  wilderness  of  budding  life,  and  to  go 
motoring  seemed  the  finest  way  possible  to  get  into 
sympathy  with  spring  at  her  loveliest.  And  al* 
though  Ellen  would  have  much  preferred  to  drive 
alone  with  her  husband  in  his  own  car,  she  found 


254          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

herself  anticipating  the  affair,  as  it  was  now 
arranged,  with  not  a  little  curiosity  to  stimulate 
her  interest.  Mrs.  Alexander  King,  for  her  son's 
sake,  was  sure  to  be  a  complaisant  and  agreeable 
companion,  and  Ellen  was  glad  to  feel  that  such  a 
pleasure  might  come  her  way. 

"This  is  great  stuff! "  exulted  Jordan  King  early 
on  Thursday  morning  as  the  big,  shining  car, 
standing  before  Burns's  door,  received  its  full  com 
plement  of  passengers.  "Mother  and  I  are  tre 
mendously  honoured,  aren't  we,  mother?" 

"Even  though  we  had  the  audacity  to  invite  our 
selves  and  ask  for  this  magnificent  car?"  Burns 
inquired,  grasping  Mrs.  Alexander  King's  gloved 
hand,  and  smiling  at  her  as  her  delicate  face  was 
lifted  to  him  with  a  look  of  really  charming  greet 
ing.  He  knew  well  enough  that  she  liked  him  in 
spite  of  certain  pretty  plain  words  he  had  said  to 
her  in  the  past,  and  he  had  prepared  himself  to 
make  her  like  him  still  better  on  this  journey  to 
gether.  "  I'm  the  one  who  is  responsible,  you  know. 
I've  merely  broken  out  in  a  new  place." 

"We  appreciate  your  caring  to  include  us  in  your 
party,"  Mrs.  King  said  cordially.  "The  car  is  all 
too  little  used,  for  Jordan  prefers  his  own,  and  I  go 
about  mostly  in  the  small  coupe.  I  have  never 
taken  so  long  a  drive  as  you  plan,  and  it  will 
doubtless  be  a  pleasant  experience.  I  see  so  little  oi 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  255 

my  son  I  am  happy  to  be  with  him  on  such  a 
trip." 

"Altogether  we're  mightily  pleased  with  the 
whole  arrangement,"  declared  Jordan  King,  re 
garding  Mrs.  Burns  with  high  approval.  "Mother, 
did  you  ever  see  a  more  distinguished-looking 
pair?" 

"In  spite  of  our  brown  faces?"  Ellen  challenged 
him  gayly. 

"My  wife's  face  simply  turns  peachy  when  she 
tans.  I  look  like  an  Indian,"  observed  Burns,  be 
stowing  certain  professional  luggage  where  it  would 
be  most  out  of  the  way. 

"That's  it;  you've  said  it.  Great  Indian  Chief  go 
make  big  medicine  for  sick  squaw;  take  along  whole 
wigwam;  wigwam  tickled  to  death  to  go!"  And 
King  settled  himself  with  an  air  of  complete  satis 
faction. 

He  had  had  no  word  from  Anne  Linton  for  nearly 
two  months,  and  was  as  restless  as  a  young  man 
may  well  be  when  his  affairs  do  not  go  to  please 
him.  She  had  kept  her  promise  and  had  written 
from  time  to  time,  but  though  her  letters  were  the 
most  interesting  human  documents  King  had  ever 
dreamed  a  woman  could  write,  they  were,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  suitor,  extremely  unsatisfying. 
As  she  had  agreed,  she  had  given  him  with  each 
letter  an  address  to  which  he  might  send  an  in> 


256         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

mediate  reply,  and  he  had  made  the  most  of  each 
such  opportunity;  but,  since  it  takes  two  to  seal  a 
bargain,  he  had  not  been  able  to  feel  his  cause 
much  advanced  by  all  his  efforts.  He  had  wel 
comed  this  chance  to  accompany  Burns  as  a 
diversion  from  his  restless  thoughts,  for  a  few  days' 
interval  in  his  engineering  plans,  caused  by  a  delay 
in  the  arrival  of  certain  necessary  material,  was 
making  him  wild  with  eagerness  for  something — 
anything — to  happen. 

Two  hundred  miles  in  a  high-powered  car  over 
finely  macadamized  roads  are  more  quickly  and 
comfortably  covered  in  these  days  than  a  thirty- 
mile  drive  behind  horses  over  such  country  high 
ways  as  existed  a  decade  ago.  Aleck,  at  the  wheel, 
his  master's  orders  in  his  willing  ears  from  time  to 
time,  gradually  accelerated  his  rate  of  speed  unti? 
by  the  end  of  the  first  two  hours  he  was  carrying 
his  party  along  at  a  pace  which  Mrs.  King  had 
frequently  condemned  as  one  which  would  be  to 
her  unbearable.  Burns  and  King  exchanged 
glances  more  than  once  as  the  car  flew  past  other 
travellers,  and  the  good  lady,  talking  happily  with 
Ellen  or  absorbed  in  some  far-reaching  view,  took 
no  note  of  the  fact  that  she  was  annihilating  space 
with  a  smooth  swiftness  comparable  only  to  the 
flight  of  some  big,  strong-winged  bird. 

"Over  halfway  there,  and  plenty  of  time  for 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  257 

lunch,"  Burns  announced.  "And  here's  the  best 
roadside  inn  in  the  country.  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
our  coming  this  way  I  should  have  suggested 
bringing  our  own  hampers,  but  I  wanted  you  to 
have  some  of  this  little  Englishman's  brook  trout 
and  hot  scones." 

Mrs.  King  enjoyed  that  hot  and  delicious  meal 
as  she  had  seldom  enjoyed  a  luncheon  anywhere. 
As  she  sat  at  the  faultlessly  served  table,  her  eyes 
travelling  from  the  wide  view  at  the  window  to 
the  faces  of  her  companions,  she  grew  more  and 
more  cheerful  in  manner,  and  was  even  heard  to 
laugh  softly  aloud  now  and  then  at  one  of  Burns's 
gay  quips,  turning  to  Ellen  in  appreciation  of  her 
husband's  wit, or  to  Jordan  himself  as  he  came  back 
at  his  friend  with  a  rejoinder  worth  hearing. 

"This  is  doing  my  mother  a  world  of  good," 
King  said  in  Ellen's  ear  as  the  party  came  out  on 
a  wide  porch  to  rest  for  a  half  hour  before  taking  to 
the  car  again.  "I  don't  know  when  I've  seen  her 
expand  like  this  and  seem  really  to  be  forgetting 
her  cares  and  sorrows." 

"It's  a  pleasure  to  watch  her,"  Ellen  agreed. 
"Red  vowed  this  morning  that  he  meant  to  bring 
about  that  very  thing,  and  he's  succeeding  much 
better  than  I  had  dared  to  hope." 

"Who  wouldn't  be  jolly  in  a  party  where  Red 
was  one  ?  Did  you  ever  see  the  dear  fellow  so  abso- 


2$8          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

lutely  irresistible?  Sometimes  I  think  there's  a 
bit  of  hypnotism  about  Red,  he  gets  us  all  so  com 
pletely." 

"What  are  you  two  whispering  about?"  said  a 
voice  behind  them,  and  they  turned  to  look  into 
the  brilliant  hazel  eyes  both  were  thinking  of  at 
the  moment. 

"You,"  King  answered  promptly. 

"Rebelling  against  the  autocracy  of  the  Indian 
Chief?" 

"No.  Prostrating  ourselves  before  his  bulky 
form.  He's  some  Indian  to-day." 

"He  will  be  before  the  day  is  over,  I  promise 
you.  He'll  call  a  council  around  the  campfire  to 
night,  and  plenty  pipes  will  be  smoked.  Everybody 
do  as  Big  Chief  says,  eh?" 

"Sure  thing,  Geronimo;  that's  what  we  came 
for." 

"You  don't  know  what  you  came  for.  Abso 
lutely  preposterous  this  thing  is — surgeon  going  to 
visit  his  case  and  bringing  along  a  lot  of  people 
who  don't  know  a  mononuclear  leucocyte  from  an 
eosinophile  cell." 

"Do  you  know  a  vortex  filament  from  a  dia 
metral  plane?"  demanded  King. 

Burns  laughed.  "Come,  let's  be  off!  I  must 
spare  half  an  hour  to  show  Mrs.  King  a  certain  view 
somewhat  off  the  main  line." 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  259 

The  afternoon  was  gone  before  they  could  have 
believed  it,  detours  though  there  were  several, 
as  there  usually  are  in  a  road-mending  season.  As 
the  car  emerged  from  a  long  run  through  wooded 
country  and  passed  a  certain  landmark  carefully 
watched  for  by  Red  Pepper,  he  spoke  to  Aleck. 

"  Run  slowly  now,  please.  And  be  ready  to  turn 
to  the  left  at  a  point  that  doesn't  show  much  be 
forehand." 

They  were  proceeding  through  somewhat 
sparsely  settled  country,  though  marked  here  and 
there  by  comfortable  farmhouses  of  a  more  than 
ordinarily  attractive  type — apparently  homes  of 
prosperous  people  with  an  eye  to  appearances. 
Then  quite  suddenly  the  car,  rounding  a  turn, 
came  into  a  different  region,  one  of  cultivated 
wildness,  of  studied  effects  so  cleverly  disguised 
that  they  would  seem  to  the  unobservant  only 
the  efforts  of  nature  at  her  best.  A  long,  heavily 
shaded  avenue  of  oaks,  with  high,  untrimmed 
hedges  of  shrubbery  on  each  side,  curved  entic- 
.ngly  before  them,  and  all  at  once,  Burns,  looking 
sharply  ahead,  called,  "There,  by  that  big  pine, 
Aleck — to  the  left."  In  a  minute  more  the  car 
turned  in  at  a  point  where  a  rough  stone  gateway 
marked  the  entrance  to  nothing  more  extraordi 
nary  than  a  pleasant  wood. 

"Patient  live  in  a  hut  in  the  forest?"  King  in- 


26o         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

quired  with  interest.  "Or  a  rich  man's  hunting 
lodge?" 

"You'll  soon  see."  Burns's  eyes  were  ahead;  a 
slight  smile  touched  his  lips. 

The  car  swept  around  curve  after  curve  of  the 
wood,  came  out  upon  the  shore  of  a  small  lake  and, 
skirting  it  halfway  round,  plunged  into  a  grove  of 
pines.  Then,  quite  without  warning,  there  showed 
beyond  the  pines  a  long,  white-plumed  row  of  small 
trees  of  a  sort  unmistakable — in  May.  Beside 
the  row  lay  a  garden,  gay  with  all  manner  of 
spring  flowers,  and  farther,  through  the  trees, 
began  to  gleam  the  long,  low  outlines  of  a  great 
house. 

"Stop  just  here,  Aleck,  for  a  minute,"  Burns  re 
quested,  and  the  car  came  to  a  standstill.  Burns 
looked  at  Jordan  King. 

"Ever  see  that  row  of  white  lilacs  before,  Jord  ?" 
he  asked  with  interest. 

King  was  staring  at  it,  a  strange  expression 
of  mingled  perplexity  and  astonishment  upon  his 
fine,  dark  face.  After  a  minute  he  turned  to  Burns. 

"What — when — where '  he  stammered,  and 

stopped,  gazing  again  at  the  lilac  hedge  and  the 
box-bordered  beds  with  their  splashes  of  bright 
colour. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  what,  when,  or  where,  if  you 
don't,"  Burns  returned. 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  261 

But  evidently  King  did  know,  or  it  came  to  him 
at  that  instant,  for  he  set  his  lips  in  a  certain 
peculiar  way  which  his  friend  understood  meant  an 
attempt  at  quick  disguise  of  strong  feeling.  He 
gave  his  mother  one  glance  and  sat  back  in  his 
seat.  Then  he  looked  again  at  Burns.  "What  is 
this,  anyway?"  he  asked  rather  sternly.  "The 
home  of  your  patient,  or  a  show  place  you've 
stopped  to  let  us  look  at?" 

"My  patient's  in  the  house  up  there.  Drive  on, 
Aleck,  please.  They'll  be  expecting  us  at  the  back 
of  the  house,  where  the  long  porches  are,  and 
where  they're  probably  having  afternoon  tea  at  this 
minute."  He  glanced  at  his  watch.  "Happy  time 
to  arrive,  isn't  it?" 

Ellen  found  herself  experiencing  a  most  extraor 
dinary  sensation  of  excitement  as  the  car  rounded 
the  drive  and  approached  the  porch,  where  she 
could  see  a  number  of  people  gathered.  The  place 
was  not  more  imposing  than  many  with  which  she 
was  familiar,  and  if  it  had  been  the  home  of  one  of 
the  world's  greatest  there  would  have  been  noth 
ing  disconcerting  to  her  in  the  prospect.  But  some 
thing  in  her  husband's  manner  assured  her  that  he 
had  been  preparing  a  surprise  for  them  all,  and  she 
had  no  means  of  guessing  what  it  might  be.  The 
little  hasty  sketch  of  lilac  trees  against  a  spring 
sky,  though  she  had  seen  it,  had  naturally  made 


262         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

no  such  impression  upon  her  as  upon  King,  and 
she  did  not  even  recall  it  now. 

The  car  rolled  quietly  up  to  the  porch  steps,  and 
immediately  a  tall  figure  sprang  down  them.  "It's 
Gardner  Coolidge,  my  old  college  friend,  Len," 
Burns  said  in  his  wife's  ear.  "Remember  him?" 
The  afternoon  sunlight  shone  upon  the  smooth, 
dark  hair  and  thin,  aristocratic  face  of  a  man  who 
spoke  eagerly,  his  quick  glance  sweeping  the  occu 
pants  of  the  car. 

"Mrs.  King!  This  is  a  great  pleasure,  I  assure 
you — a  great  pleasure.  Mrs.  Burns — we  are  de 
lighted.  And  this  is  your  son,  Mrs.  King — welcome 
to  you,  my  dear  sir!  Red,  no  need  to  say  we're 
glad  to  see  you  back.  Let  me  help  you,  Mrs.  King. 
Don't  tell  me  you  wouldn't  have  known  me;  that 
would  be  a  blow.  Alicia" — he  turned  to  the  grace 
ful  figure  approaching  across  the  porch  to  meet 
the  elder  lady  of  the  party  as  she  came  up  the 
steps  upon  the  arm  of  the  man  who  had  taken  her 
from  the  car — "Mrs.  King,  this  is  my  wife." 

Red  Pepper  Burns,  laughing  and  shaking  hands 
warmly  with  Alicia  Coolidge,  was  watching  Mrs. 
Alexander  King  as,  after  the  first  look  of  bewil 
derment,  she  cried  out  softly  with  pleasure  at 
recognizing  the  son  of  an  old  friend. 

"But  it  has  all  been  kept  secret  from  me,"  she 
was  saying.  "  I  had  no  possible  idea  of  where  we 


WHITE  LILACS  AGAIN  263 

were  coming,  and  I  am  sure  my  son  had  not." 
She  turned  to  that  son,  but  she  could  not  get  his 
attention,  for  the  reason  that  his  astonished  gaze 
was  fastened  upon  a  person  who  had  at  that  mo 
ment  appeared  in  the  doorway  and  paused  there. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS 

JORDAN  KING  looked,  and  looked  again,  and 
it  was  a  wonder  he  did  not  rub  his  eyes  to 
make  sure  he  was  fully  awake.  As  he  looked 
the  figure  in  the  doorway  came  forward.  It  was 
that  of  a  girl  in  a  white  serge  coat  and  skirt,  with 
a  smart  little  white  hat  upon  her  richly  ruddy  hair, 
and  the  look,  from  head  to  foot,  of  one  who  had 
just  returned  to  a  place  where  she  belonged.  And 
the  next  instant  Anne  Linton  was  greeting  Ellen 
Burns  and  coming  up  to  be  presented  to  Mrs. 
Alexander  King. 

"This  is  my  little  sister,  Mrs.  King,"  said  Gard 
ner  Coolidge,  smiling,  and  putting  his  arm  about 
the  white-serge-clad  shoulders.  "She  is  your 
hostess,  you  know.  Alicia  and  I  are  only  making 
her  a  visit." 

"I  am  so  glad  you  are  here,  Mrs.  King,"  said  a 
voice  Jordan  King  well  remembered,  and  Anne 
Linton's  eyes  looked  straight  into  those  of  her 
oldest  guest,  whose  own  were  puzzled. 

"I  think,"  said  Mrs.  King,  holding  the  firm 
264 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        265 

young  hand  which  she  had  taken,  "I  have  seen 
you  before,  my  dear,  though  my  memory— 

"Yes,  Mrs.  King,"  the  girl  replied— and  there 
was  not  the  smallest  shadow  of  triumph  discernible 
in  her  tone  or  look — "you  have.  I  came  to  see  your 
son  in  the  hospital,  with  Mrs.  Burns,  just  before  I 
left.  It's  not  strange  you  have  forgotten  me,  for  we 
went  away  almost  at  once.  We  are  so  delighted  to 
have  you  come  to  see  us.  Isn't  it  delightful  that 
you  knew  our  mother  so  well  at  school?" 

Well,  it  came  Jordan  King's  turn  in  the  end,  al 
though  Anne  Linton,  so  extraordinarily  labelled 
"hostess"  by  her  brother,  discharged  every  duty 
of  greeting  her  other  guests  before  she  turned  to 
him.  Meanwhile  he  had  stood,  frankly  staring, 
hat  in  hand  and  growing  colour  on  his  cheek,  while 
his  eyes  seemed  to  grow  darker  and  darker  under 
his  heavily  marked  brows.  When  Anne  turned  to 
him  he  had  no  words  for  her,  and  hardly  a  smile, 
though  his  good  breeding  came  to  his  rescue  and 
put  him  through  the  customary  forms  of  action, 
dazed  though  he  yet  was.  He  found  himself  pre 
sented  to  other  people  on  the  porch,  whom  he 
recognized  as  undoubtedly  those  whom  he  had 
met  in  the  passing  car  at  the  time  when  he  was  in 
doubt  as  to  Anne's  identity.  Her  aunt,  uncle,  and 
cousins  they  proved  to  be,  though  the  young  man 
whom  he  remembered  as  being  present  on  that 


266          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

occasion  was  now  happily  absent.  Jordan  King 
found  himself  completely  reconciled  to  this  at  once. 

"How  is  our  patient?"  Burns  said  to  Anne  at 
the  first  opportunity.  "  Shall  I  go  up  at  once  ? " 

"Oh,  please  wait  a  minute,  Doctor  Burns;  I  want 
to  go  with  you,  and  I  must  see  my  guests  having 
some  tea  first." 

There  followed,  for  King,  what  seemed  an  in 
terminable  interval  of  time,  during  which  he  was 
forced  to  sit  beside  one  of  Anne's  girl  cousins — and 
a  very  pretty  girl  she  was,  too,  only  he  didn't  seem 
able  to  appreciate  it — drinking  tea,  and  handing 
sugar,  and  doing  all  the  proper  things.  ID  the 
midst  of  this  Anne  vanished  with  Red  Pepper  at 
her  heels,  leaving  the  tea  table  to  Mrs.  Coolidge. 
At  this  point,  however,  King  found  himself  glad 
to  listen  to  Miss  Stockton. 

"I  don't  suppose  anybody  in  the  world  but 
Anne  Linton  Coolidge  would  have  thought  of 
sending  two  hundred  miles  for  a  surgeon  to  oper 
ate  on  her  housekeeper,"  she  was  saying  when  his 
attention  was  arrested  by  her  words.  "But  she 
thinks  such  a  lot  of  Timmy— Mrs.  Timmins — she 
would  pay  any  sum  to  keep  her  in  the  world.  She 
was  Anne's  nurse,  you  see,  and  of  course  Anne  is 
fond  of  her.  And  I'm  sure  we're  glad  she  did  send 
for  him,  for  it  gave  us  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
Doctor  Burns,  and  of  course  we  understand  now 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        267 

why  she  thought  nobody  else  in  the  world  could 
pull  Timmy  through.  He's  such  an  interesting  per 
sonality,  don't  you  think  so  ?  We're  all  crazy  about 
him." 

"Oh,  yes,  everybody's  crazy  about  him,"  King 
admitted  readily.  "And  certainly  two  hundred 
miles  isn't  far  to  send  for  a  surgeon  these  days." 

"Of  course  not — only  I  don't  suppose  it's  done 
every  day  for  one's  housekeeper,  do  you?  But  no 
body  ever  knows  what  Anne's  going  to  do — least 
of  all  now,  when  she's  just  back,  after  the  most 
extraordinary  performance."  She  stopped,  look 
ing  at  him  curiously.  "I  suppose  you  know  all 
about  it — much  more  than  we,  in  fact,  since  you 
met  her  when  she  was  in  that  hospital.  Did  you 
ever  hear  of  a  rich  girl's  doing  such  a  thing  any 
way  ?  Going  off  to  sell  books  for  a  whole  year  just 
because" — she  stopped  again,  and  bit  her  lip,  then 
went  on  quickly:  "Everybody  knows  about  it, 
and  you  would  be  sure  to  hear  it  sooner  or  later. 
Doctor  Burns  knows,  anyhow,  and— 

"Please  don't  tell  me  anything  I  oughtn't  to 
hear,"  Jordan's  sense  of  honour  impelled  him  to 
say.  He  recognized  the  feminine  type  before  him, 
and  though  he  longed  to  know  all  about  everything 
he  did  not  want  to  know  it  in  any  way  Anne 
would  not  like. 

But   there   was   no    stopping   the    fluffy-haired 


268          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

young  person.  "Really,  everybody  knows;  the 
countryside  fairly  rang  with  it  a  year  ago.  You 
might  even  have  read  it  in  the  papers,  only  you 
wouldn't  remember.  A  girl  book  agent  killed  her 
self  in  Anne's  house  here  because  Anne  wouldn't 
buy  her  book.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  anything  so 
absurd  as  Anne's  thinking  it  was  her  fault?  Of 
course  the  girl  was  insane,  and  Anne  had  abso 
lutely  nothing  to  do  with  it.  And  then  Anne  took 
the  girl's  book  and  went  off  to  sell  it  herself — and 
find  out,  she  said,  how  such  things  could  happen. 
I  don't  know  whether  she  found  out."  Miss 
Stockton  laughed  very  charmingly.  "All  I  know 
is  we're  tremendously  thankful  to  have  her  back. 
Nothing's  the  same  with  her  away.  We  don't 
know  if  she'll  stay,  though.  Nobody  can  tell 
about  Anne,  ever." 

"Is  this  your  home,  too?"  King  managed  to  ask. 
His  brain  was  whirling  with  the  shock  of  this 
astonishing  revelation.  He  wanted  to  get  off  by 
himself  and  think  about  it. 

"Oh,  no,  indeed,  no  such  luck.  We  live  across 
the  lake  in  a  much  less  beautiful  place,  only  of 
course  we're  here  a  great  deal  when  Anne's  home. 
My  mother  would  be  a  mother  to  Anne  if  Anne 
would  let  her,  but  she's  the  most  independent 
creature — prefers  to  live  here  with  just  Timmy  and 
old  Campbell,  the  butler  who's  been  with  the 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        269 

Family  since  time  began.  Timmy's  more  than  a 
housekeeper,  of  course.  Anne's  made  almost  a  real 
chaperon  out  of  her,  and  she  is  very  dignified  and 
nice." 

King  would  have  had  the  entire  family  history, 
he  was  sure,  if  a  diversion  had  not  occurred  in  the 
nature  of  a  general  move  to  show  the  guests  to  their 
rooms,  with  the  appearance  of  servants,  and  the 
removal  of  luggage.  In  his  room  presently,  there 
fore,  King  had  a  chance  to  get  his  thoughts  to 
gether.  One  thing  was  becoming  momentarily  clear 
to  him:  his  being  here  was  with  Anne's  permis 
sion — and  she  was  willing  to  see  him;  she  had  kept 
her  promise.  As  for  all  the  rest,  he  didn't  care 
much.  And  when  he  thought  of  the  moment  dur 
ing  which  his  mother  had  looked  so  kindly  into 
Anne's  eyes,  not  recognizing  her,  he  laughed  aloud. 
Let  Mrs.  King  retreat  from  that  position  now  if 
she  wanted  to.  As  for  himself,  he  was  not  at  all 
sure  that  he  ca-red  a  straw  to  have  it  thus  so  clearly 
proved  that  Anne  was  what  she  had  seemed  to  be. 
Had  he  not  known  it  all  along?  His  heart  sang 
with  the  thought  that  he  had  been  ready  to  many 
her,  no  matter  what  her  position  in  the  world. 

And  now  he  wondered  how  many  hours  it  would 
be  before  he  should  have  his  chance  to  see  her 
alone,  if  for  but  five  minutes.  Well,  at  least  he 
could  look  at  her.  And  that,  as  he  descended  the 


270         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

stairs  with  the  others,  he  found  well  worth  do 
ing.  Anne  and  Gardner  Coolidge  were  meeting 
them  at  the  foot,  and  the  young  hostess  had 
changed  her  white  outing  garb  for  a  most  enchant 
ing  other  white,  which  showed  her  round  arms 
through  soft  net  and  lace  and  made  her  yet  a  new 
type  of  girl  in  King's  thought  of  her. 

She  had  a  perfectly  straightforward  way  of 
meeting  his  eyes,  though  her  own  were  bewildering 
even  so,  without  any  coquetry  in  her  use  of  them. 
She  was  not  blushing  and  shy,  she  was  self- 
possessed  and  radiant.  King  could  understand,  as 
he  looked  at  her  now,  how  she  had  felt  over  that 
affair  of  the  tragedy  suddenly  precipitated  into  her 
life,  and  what  strength  of  character  it  must  have 
taken  to  send  her  out  from  this  secluded  and  per 
fect  home  into  a  rough  world,  that  she  might  find 
out  for  herself  "how  such  things  could  happen." 
And  as  he  watched  her,  playing  hostess  in  this 
home  of  hers,  looking  after  everybody's  comfort 
with  that  ease  and  charm  which  proclaims  a  life 
time  of  previous  training  and  custom,  his  heart 
grew  fuller  and  fuller  of  pride  and  love  and  longing. 

The  dinner  hour  passed,  a  merry  hour  at  a  dig 
nified  table,  served  by  the  old  butler  who  made  a 
rite  of  his  service,  his  face  never  relaxing  though 
the  laughter  rang  never  so  contagiously.  Burnc 
and  Coolidge  were  the  life  of  the  company,  the  lat- 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        271 

ter  seeming  a  different  man  from  the  one  who  had 
come  to  consult  his  old  chum  as  to  the  trouble  in 
his  life.  Mrs.  Coolidge,  quiet  and  very  attractive 
in  her  reserved,  fair  beauty,  made  an  interesting 
foil  to  Ellen  Burns,  and  the  two,  beside  the  rather 
fussy  aunt  and  cousins,  seemed  to  belong  together. 

"Anne,  we  must  show  Doctor  Burns  our  plans 
for  the  cottage,"  Coolidge  said  to  his  sister  as  they 
left  the  table.  He  turned  to  Ellen,  walking  beside 
her.  "She's  almost  persuaded  us  to  build  on  a 
corner  of  her  own  estate — at  least  a  summer  place, 
for  a  starter.  You  know  Red  prescribed  for  us  a 
cottage,  and  we  haven't  yet  carried  out  his  pre 
scription.  But  this  sister  of  mine,  since  she  met 
him,  has  acquired  the  idea  that  any  prescription 
of  his  simply  has  to  be  filled,  and  she  won't  let 
Alicia  and  me  alone  till  we've  done  this  thing. 
Shall  we  all  walk  along  down  there?  There'll  be 
just  about  time  before  dark  for  you  to  see  the  site, 
and  the  plans  shall  come  later." 

The  whole  party  trooped  down  the  steps  into  the 
garden.  King  was  a  clever  engineer,  but  he  could 
not  do  any  engineering  which  seemed  to  count  in 
this  affair.  Never  seeming  to  avoid  him,  Anne  was 
never  where  he  could  get  three  words  alone  with 
her.  She  devoted  herself  to  his  mother,  to  Ellen, 
or  to  Burns  himself,  and  none  of  these  people  gave 
him  any  help.  Not  that  he  wanted  them  to.  He 


272         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

bided  his  time,  and  meanwhile  he  took  some  pleas 
ure  in  showing  his  lady  that  he,  too,  could  play  his 
part  until  it  should  suit  her  to  give  him  his  chance. 

But  when,  as  the  evening  wore  on,  it  began  to 
look  as  if  she  were  deliberately  trying  to  prevent 
any  interview  whatever,  he  grew  unhappy.  And 
at  last,  the  party  having  returned  to  the  house  and 
gathered  in  a  delightful  old  drawing-room,  he  took 
his  fate  in  his  hands.  At  a  moment  when  Anne 
stood  beside  Red  Pepper  looking  over  some  photo 
graphs  lying  on  the  grand  piano,  he  came  up 
behind  them. 

"Miss  Coolidge,"  he  said,  "I  wonder  if  you 
would  show  me  that  lilac  hedge  by  moonlight." 

"I'm  afraid  there  isn't  any  moon,"  she  an 
swered  with  a  merry,  straightforward  look.  "It 
will  be  as  dark  as  a  pocket  down  by  that  hedge, 
Mr.  King.  But  I'll  gladly  show  it  to  you  to-mor 
row  morning — as  early  as  you  like.  I'm  a  very- 
early  riser." 

"As  early  as  six  o'clock?"  he  asked  eagerly. 

She  nodded.  "As  early  as  that.  It  is  a  perfect 
time  on  a  May  morning." 

"And  you  won't  go  anywhere  now?" 

"How  can  I?"  she  parried,  smiling.  "These  are 
my  guests." 

Burns  glanced  at  his  friend,  his  hazel  eyes  full  of 
suppressed  laughter.  "Better  be  contented  with 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        273 

that,  old  fellow.  That  row  of  lilacs  will  be  very- 
nice  at  six  o'clock  to-morrow  morning.  Mayn't  I 
zome,  too,  Miss  Coolidge?" 

"Of  course  you  may."  Her  sparkling  glance  met 
his.  Evidently  they  were  very  good  friends,  and 
understood  each  other. 

"If  he  does,"  said  King,  in  a  sort  of  growl,  "he'll 
have  something  to  settle  with  me." 

He  went  to  bed  in  a  peculiar  frame  of  mind. 
Why  had  she  wanted  to  waste  all  these  hours 
when  at  nine  in  the  morning  the  party  was  to  leave 
for  its  return  trip?  Well,  he  supposed  morning 
would  come  sometime,  though  it  seemed,  at  mid 
night,  a  long  way  off. 

"Want  me  to  call  you  at  five-thirty,  Jord?" 
Burns  had  inquired  of  him  at  parting. 

"No,  thanks,"  he  had  replied.    "  I'll  not  miss  it." 

"A  fellow  might  lie  awake  so  long  thinking  about 
it  that  he'd  go  offinto  a  sound  sleep  just  before  day 
light,  and  sleep  right  through  his  early  morning 
appointment,"  urged  his  loyal  friend.  "Better  let 
me " 

"Oh,  you  go  on  to  bed!"  requested  King  irri 
tably. 

"No  gratitude  to  one  who  has  brought  all  this  to 
pass,  eh?" 

"Heaps  of  it.  But  this  evening  has  been  rather 
a  facer  " 


274          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

"Not  at  all.  There  were  a  dozen  times  when 
you  might  have  rushed  in  and  got  a  little  quiet 
place  all  to  yourself,  with  only  the  stars  looking 
on.  Plenty  of  openings." 

"  I  didn't  see  'em.    You  were  always  in  the  way." 

"I  was!  Well,  I  like  that.  Had  to  be  ordinarily 
attentive  to  my  hostess,  hadn't  I  ?  It  wasn't  for 
me  to  take  shy  little  boys  by  the  hand  and  lead 
them  up  to  the  little  girls  they  fancied." 

"I  don't  want  to  be  led  up  by  the  hand,  thank 
you.  Good-night!" 

King  was  up  at  daybreak,  which  in  May  comes 
reasonably  early.  Stealing  down  through  the 
quiet  house,  the  windows  of  which  seemed  to  be  all 
wide  open  to  the  morning  air,  he  came  out  upon 
the  porch  and  took  the  path  to  the  lilac  hedge. 
Arrived  there  at  only  twenty  minutes  before  the 
appointed  hour,  he  had  so  long  a  wait  that  he  be 
gan  to  grow  both  impatient  and  chagrined.  At 
quarter-past  six  he  was  feeling  very  much  like 
stalking  back  to  the  house  and  retiring  to  his  room, 
when  the  low  sound  of  a  motor  arrested  him,  and 
he  wheeled,  to  discover  a  long,  low,  gray  car,  of  a 
type  with  which  he  was  not  familiar,  sailing  grace 
fully  around  the  long  curve  of  the  driveway  toward 
him.  A  trim  figure  in  gray,  with  a  small  gray 
velvet  hat  pulled  close  over  auburn  hair,  was  at  the 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        275 

wheel,  and  a  vivid  face  was  smiling  at  him.  But 
the  air  of  the  driver  as  she  drew  up  beside  him  was 
not  at  all  sentimental,  rather  it  was  businesslike. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry  to  be  late,"  she  said,  "but 
I  couldn't  possibly  help  it.  I  got  up  at  four,  to 
make  a  call  I  had  to  make  and  be  back,  but  I  was 
detained.  And  even  now  I  must  be  off  again,  with 
out  any  lingering  by  lilac  hedges.  What  shall  we  do 
about  it?" 

"I'll  go  with  you."  And  King  stepped  into  the 
car. 

"With  or  without  an  invitation?"  Her  eyes 
were  laughing,  though  her  lips  had  sobered. 

"\Vith  or  without.  And  you  know  you  came 
back  for  me." 

"I  came  back  for  a  basket  of  things  I  must  get 
from  the  house.  Also,  of  course,  to  explain  my 
detention." 

"Out  selling  books,  I  suppose?"  he  questioned, 
not  caring  much  what  he  said,  now  that  he  had  her 
to  himself.  "You  must  make  a  great  impression  as 
a  book  agent.  If  only  you  had  tried  that  way  in  our 
town.  And  I — I  took  you  in  my  car  under  the 
pleasant  impression  that  I  was  giving  you  a  treat — 
on  that  first  trip,  you  know.  By  the  second  trip  I 
had  acquired  a  sneaking  suspicion  that  motoring 
wasn't  such  a  novelty  to  you  as  I  had  at  first 
Supposed/' 


276          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

They  had  flown  around  the  remaining  carves  and 
were  at  a  rear  door  of  the  house.  Anne  jumped  out, 
was  gone  for  ten  minutes  or  so,  and  emerged  with  a 
servant  following  with  a  great  hamper.  This  was 
bestowed  at  King's  feet,  and  the  car  was  off  again, 
Anne  driving  with  the  ease  of  a  veteran. 

"You  see,"  she  explained,  "late  last  evening  I 
had  news  of  the  serious  illness  of  a  girl  friend  of 
mine.  I  went  to  see  her,  but  after  I  came  back  I 
couldn't  be  easy  about  her,  and  so  I  got  up  quite 
early  this  morning  and  went  again.  She  was  much 
better,  precisely  as  Doctor  Burns  had  assured  me 
she  would  be.  By  and  by  perhaps  I  shall  learn 
to  trust  him  as  absolutely  as  all  the  rest  of  you 
do." 

"Burns!  You  don't  mean  to  say  you  had  him 
out  to  see  a  case  last  night — after " 

She  nodded,  and  her  profile,  under  the  snug  gray 
hat,  was  a  little  like  that  of  a  handsome  and  some 
what  mischievous  but  strong-willed  boy.  "Was 
that  so  dreadful  of  me — as  a  hostess?  I  admit 
that  a  doctor  ought  to  be  allowed  to  rest  when  he  is 
away  from  home,  but  I  knew  that  he  was  just  back 
from  a  long  voyage  and  was  feeling  fit  as  a  fiddle, 
as  he  himself  said.  And  there  is  really  no  very 
competent  man  in  the  town  where  my  friend  is  ill; 
it  was  such  a  wonderful  chance  for  her  to  have  great 
skill  at  her  service.  And  such  skill!  Oh,  how  he 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        277 

went  to  work  for  her!  It  made  one  feel  at  once  that 
something  was  being  done,  where  before  people  had 
merely  tried  to  do  things." 

King  was  making  rapid  calculation.  At  the  end 
of  it,  "Would  you  mind  telling  me  whether  you 
have  had  any  sleep  at  all?"  he  begged. 

She  turned  her  face  toward  him  for  an  instant. 
"  Do  I  look  so  haggard  and  wan  ? "  she  queried  with 
a  quick  glance.  "Yes,  I  had  a  good  two  hours. 
And  I'm  so  happy  now  to  know  that  Estelle  is 
sleeping  quietly  that  it's  much  better  than  to  have 
slept  myself." 

"Do  you  do  this  sort  of  thing  often?" 

"Not  just  such  spectacular  night  work,  but  I  do 
try  to  see  that  a  little  is  done  to  look  after  a  few 
people  who  have  had  a  terribly  hard  time  of  it. 
But  this  is  all — or  mostly — since  I  came  back  from 
my  year  away.  I  learned  just  a  few  things  during 
that  year,  you  know." 

"Your  cousin — do  you  mind? — gave  me  just  a 
bit  of  an  idea  why  you  went,"  he  ventured. 

"Oh,  Leila  Stockton."  Her  lips  took  on  an 
amused  curl.  "Of  course  Leila  would.  She- 
chatters.  But  she's  a  dear  girl;  it's  just  that  she 
can't  easily  get  a  new  point  of  view." 

He  pressed  her  with  his  questions,  for  his  discern 
ment  told  him  that  it  was  of  no  use,  while  they  were 
flying  along  the  road  at  this  pace,  with  a  hamper  at 


278          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

their  feet — or  at  his  feet,  crowding  him  rather  un 
comfortably  and  forcing  him  to  sit  with  cramped 
legs — no  use  for  him  to  talk  of  the  subject  upper 
most  in  his  anxious  mind.  So  he  got  from  her,  as 
well  as  he  could,  the  story  of  the  year,  and  presently 
had  her  telling  him  eagerly  of  the  people  she  had 
met,  and  the  progress  she  had  made  in  the  study  of 
human  beings.  It  was  really  an  engrossing  tale, 
quietly  as  she  told  it,  and  many  as  were  the  details 
he  saw  that  she  kept  back. 

"  I  found  out  one  thing  very  early,"  she  said.  " I 
knew  that  I  could  never  come  back  and  live  as  I  had 
lived  before,  with  no  thought  of  any  one  but  my 
self." 

"I  don't  believe  you  had  ever  done  that." 

"  I  had — I  had,  if  ever  any  one  did.  I  went  away 
to  school  in  Paris  for  two  years;  I  wouldn't  go  to 
college — how  I  wish  I  had !  I  was  the  gayest,  most 
thoughtless  girl  you  ever  knew  until — the  thing 
happened  that  sent  my  world  spinning  upside 
down.  Why,  Mr.  King,  I  was  so  selfish  and  so 
thoughtless  that  I  could  turn  that  poor  girl  away 
from  my  door  with  a  careless  denial,  and  never  see 
that  she  was  desperate — that  it  wanted  only  one 
more  such  turning  away  to  make  her  do  the  thing 
she  did." 

He  saw  her  press  her  lips  together,  her  eyes  fixed 
QIX  the  road  ahead,  and  he  saw  the  beautiful  brows 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        279 

contract,  as  if  the  memory  still  were  too  keen  for 
her  to  bear  calmly. 

"You  have  certainly  atoned  a  hundred  times 
over,"  he  said  gently,  "for  any  carelessness  in  the 
past.  How  could  you  know  how  she  was  feeling  ? 
And  she  was  insane,  Miss  Stockton  said." 

"No  more  insane  than  I  am  now — simply  des 
perate  with  weariness  and  failure.  And  I  should 
have  seen;  I  did  see.  I  just — didn't  care.  I  was 
busy  trying  on  a  box  of  new  frocks  from  a  French 
dressmaker,  frocks  of  silk  and  lace — of  silk  and  lace, 
Jordan  King,  while  she  hadn't  clothes  enough  to 
keep  her  warm!  And  I  couldn't  spare  the  time  to 
look  at  the  girl's  book !  Well,  I  learned  what  it  was 
to  have  people  turn  me  from  their  doors — I,  with 
plenty  of  money  at  my  command,  no  matter  how  I 
elected  to  dress  cheaply  and  go  to  cheap  boarding 
places,  and — insist  on  cheap  beds  at  hospitals." 
Her  tone  was  full  of  scorn.  "After  all,  did  I  ever 
really  suffer  anything  of  what  she  suffered  ?  Never, 
for  always  I  knew  that  at  any  minute  I  could  turn 
from  a  poor  girl  into  a  rich  one,  throw  my  book  in 
the  faces  of  those  who  refused  to  buy  it,  and  tele 
phone  my  anxious  family.  They  did  come  on  and 
try  to  get  me  away — once.  I  went  with  them — for 
the  day.  It  was  the  day  you  met  me.  And  always 
there  was  the  interest  of  the  adventure.  It  was  an 
adventure,  you  know,  a  big  one." 


280         RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

*      • 

"I  should  say  it  was.  And  when  you  were  at  the 
hospital " 

"Accepting  expensive  rooms  and  free  medical  at 
tendance — oh,  wasn't  I  a  fraud  ?  How  I  felt  it  I  can 
never  tell  you.  But  I  could — and  did — send  back 
Doctor  Burns  a  draft  in  part  payment,  though  I 
thought  he  would  never  imagine  where  it  came 
from.  He  did,  though.  What  do  you  suppose  he 
told  me  last  night  when  we  were  driving  home? 
— this  morning  it  was,  of  course.5* 

"I  can't  guess,"  King  admitted,  suffering  a  dis 
tinct  and  poignant  pang  of  jealousy  at  thought  of 
Red  Pepper  Burns  driving  through  the  night  with 
this  girl,  on  an  errand  of  mercy  though  it  had 
been. 

"He  told  me,"  she  said  slowly,  "that  he  learned 
all  about  me  while  I  was  in  the  hospital.  One  night, 
when  I  was  at  the  worst,  he  sent  Miss  Arden  out  for 
a  rest  and  sat  beside  me  himself.  And  in  my  foolish, 
delirious  wanderings  I  gave  him  the  whole  story, 
or  enough  of  it  so  that  he  pieced  out  the  rest. 
And  he  never  told  a  soul,  not  even  his  wife;  wasn't 
that  wonderful  of  him  ?  And  treated  me  exactly 
the  same  as  if  he  didn't  practically  know  I  wasnit 
what  I  seemed.  You  see,  I  wasn't  far  enough 
away  from  that  poor  girl's  suicide,  when  I  was  so  ill 
last  year,  but  that  it  was  always  in  my  mind.  Even 
yet  I  dream  of  it  at  times." 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        281 

They  were  entering  a  large  manufacturing  town, 
the  streets  in  the  early  morning  full  of  factory 
operatives  on  their  way  to  work,  dinner-pails  in 
hands  and  shawls  over  heads.  Anne  drove  care 
fully,  often  throwing  a  smile  at  a  group  of  children 
or  slowing  down  more  than  the  law  decreed  to 
avoid  making  some  weary-faced  woman  hurry. 
And  when  at  length  she  drew  up  before  a  dingy 
brick  tenement  house,  of  a  type  the  most  un 
promising,  King  discovered  that  her  "friend"  was 
one  of  these  very  people. 

He  carried  the  hamper  up  two  flights  of  ram 
shackle  stairs  and  set  it  inside  the  door  she  indi 
cated.  Then  he  unwillingly  withdrew  to  the  car, 
where  he  sat  waiting — and  wondering.  It  was  not 
long  he  had  to  wait,  in  point  of  time,  but  his  im 
patience  was  growing  upon  him.  All  this  was  very 
well,  and  threw  interesting  lights  upon  a  girl's 
character,  but — it  would  be  nine  o'clock  all  too 
soon.  To  be  sure,  though  Red  Pepper  bore  him 
away,  he  knew  the  road  back — he  could  come  back 
as  soon  as  he  pleased,  with  nobody  to  set  hours  of 
departure  for  him.  But  he  did  not  mean  to  go 
away  this  first  time  without  the  thing  he  wanted,  if 
it  was  to  be  his. 

She  came  running  downstairs,  face  aglow  with 
relief  and  pleasure,  and  sent  the  car  smoothly 
away.  And  now  it  was  that  King  discovered  how  a 


282          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

girl  may  fence  and  parry,  so  that  a  man  may  not 
successfully  introduce  the  subject  he  is  burning  to 
speak  of,  without  riding  roughshod  over  her 
objection.  And  presently  he  gave  it  up,  bid 
ing  his  time.  He  sat  silent  while  she  talked, 
and  then  finally,  when  she  too  grew  silent,  he 
let  the  minutes  slip  by  without  another  word. 
Thus  it  was  that  they  drew  up  at  the  house,  still 
speechless  concerning  the  great  issue  between 
them. 

It  was  only  a  little  past  seven;  nobody  was  in 
sight  except  a  maid  servant,  who  slipped  dis 
creetly  away.  King  took  one  look  into  a  small 
room  at  the  right  of  the  hall,  a  sort  of  small  den  or 
office  it  seemed  to  be.  Then  he  turned  to  Anne  and 
put  out  his  hand.  "Will  you  come  in  here, 
please?'*  he  requested. 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  without  giving 
him  her  hand,  then  preceded  him  into  the  room. 
There  was  a  heavy  curtain  of  dull  blue  silk  hanging 
by  the  door  frame,  and  King  noiselessly  drew  this 
across.  Then  he  turned  and  confronted  the  girl. 
She  had  drawn  off  her  motoring  gloves,  but  made 
no  motion  to  remove  either  the  rough  gray  coat  in 
which  she  had  been  driving  or  the  small  gray  velvet 
hat  drawn  smoothly  down  over  her  curls  with  a 
clever  air  of  its  own.  Altogether  she  looked  not  in 
the  least  like  a  hostess,  but  very  like  a  traveller 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        283 

who  has  only  paused  for  a  brief  stop  on  a  journey 
to  be  immediately  continued. 

He  stood  there  watching  her  for  a  minute,  him 
self  a  challenging  figure  with  his  dark,  bright  face, 
his  fine  young  height,  his  air  of — quite  suddenly — 
commanding  the  situation.  And  he  was  between 
the  girl  and  the  door.  The  two  pairs  of  eyes  looked 
straight  into  each  other. 

"Well?  "he  said. 

"Well?"  said  Anne  Linton  Coolidge  in  re 
turn. 

"Did  you  expect  me  to  wait  any  longer?" 

"I  was  afraid  you  might  come  and  go — anJ 
never  say  so  much  as  'Well?'"  said  she. 

This  was  more  than  mortal  man  could  bear — 
and  there  was  no  more  waiting  done  by  anybody. 
When  Jordan  King  had — temporarily — done  satis 
fying  the  hunger  of  his  lips  and  arms,  he  spoke 
again,  looking  down  searchingly  at  a  face  into 
which  he  had  brought  plenty  of  splendid  col 
our. 

"If  I  had  found  you  in  that  poor  place  I  thought 
I  should,  it  would  have  been  just  the  same,"  he 
said. 

"I  really  believe  it  would,"  admitted  Anne. 

Half  an  hour  afterward,  emerging  from  the  small 
room  which  had  held  such  a  big  experience,  the 


284          RED  PEPPER'S  PATIENTS 

pair  discovered  Red  Pepper  Burns  just  descending 
the  stairway.  He  scrutinized  their  faces  sharply, 
then  advanced  upon  them.  They  met  him  half 
way.  He  gravely  took  Anne's  hand  and  set  his 
fingers  on  her  pulse. 

"Too  rapid,"  he  said  with  a  shake  of  the  head. 
"Altogether  too  rapid.  You  have  been  under 
going  much  excitement — and  so  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  too.  As  your  physician  I  must  caution  you 
against  such  untimely  hours." 

He  felt  of  King's  wrist,  and  again  he  shook  his 
head.  "Worse  and  worse,"  he  announced.  "Not 
only  rapid,  but  bounding.  The  heart  is  plainly 
overworked.  These  cases  are  contagious.  One 
acts  upon  the  other — no  doubt  of  it — no  doubt  at 
all.  I  would  suggest " 

He  found  both  his  arms  grasped  by  Jordan 
King's  strong  hands,  and  he  allowed  himself  to  be 
held  tightly  by  that  happy  young  man.  "Give  us 
your  best  wishes!"  demanded  his  captor. 

"Why,  you've  had  those  from  the  first.  I  saw 
this  coming  before  either  of  you,"  Burns  replied. 

"Not  before  I  did,"  asserted  King. 

"Not  before  I  did,"  declared  Anne. 

Then  the  two  looked  at  each  other,  and  Burns, 
smiling  at  them,  his  hazel  eyes  very  bright,  re 
quested  to  be  restored  the  use  of  his  arms.  This 
being  conceded,  he  laid  those  arms  about  the 


RED'S  DEAREST  PATIENTS        285 

i 
shoulders  before  him  and  drew  the  two^young 

people  close  within  them. 

"You  two  are  the  most  satisfactory  and  the 
dearest  patients  I've  ever  had,"  declared  Red 
Pepper  Burns. 


The  greatest  pleasure  in  life  is 
that  of  reading.  Why  not  then 
own  the  books  of  great  novelists 
when  the  price  is  so  small 


C  Of  all  the  amusements  -which  can  possibly 
be  imagined  for  a  hard-working  man,  after 
his  daily  toil,  or,  in  «iy  intervals,  there  is 
nothing  like  reading  an  entertaining  book. 
It  calls  for  no  bodily  exertion.  It  transports 
A*w  into  a  livelier,  and  gayer,  and  more  di 
versified  and  interesting  scene,  and  while  he 
enjoys  himself  there  he  may  forget  the  evils 
of  the  present  moment.  Nay,  it  accompanies 
him  to  his  next  day's  work,  and  gives  hm, 
something  to  think  of  besides  the  nwre 
mechanical  drudgery  of  his  ez'ery-day  occu 
pation — something  he  can  enjoy  while  absent, 
and  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  return  to. 

Ask  your  dealer  for  a  list  of  the  titles 
in    Burt's    Popular    Priced    Fiction 


In  buying  the  books  bearing  the 
A.  L.  Purt  Company  imprint 
you  arc  assured  of  wholesome,  en 
tertaining  and  instructive  reading 


THE   BEST  OF  RECENT   FICTION 

Adventures  of  Jimmie  Dale,  The,    Frank  L.  Packard. 

Adventures  of  Sherlock  Holmes.     A.  Conan  Doyle. 

Affair  at  Flower  Acres,  The.     Carolyn  Wells. 

Affinities  and  Other  Stories.     Mary  Roberts  Rinehart. 

After  House,  The.     Mary  Roberts  Rinehart. 

Against  the  Winds.    Kate  Jordan. 

Alcatraz.    Max  Brand. 

Alias  Richard  Power.    William  Allison. 

All  the  Way  by  Water.    Elizabeth  Stancy  Payne. 

Amateur  Gentleman,  The.     Jeffery  Farnol. 

Amateur  Inn,  The.     Albert  Payson  Terhune. 

Anna  ths  Adventuress.    'E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Anne's  House  of  Dreams.     L.  M.  Montgomery. 

Anybody  But  Anne.    Carolyn  Wells. 

Are  All  Men  Alike,  and  The  Lost  Titian.    Arthur  Stringer. 

Around  Old  Chester.    Margaret  Deland. 

Arrant  Rover,  The.    Berta  Ruck. 

Athalie.    Robert  W.  Chambers. 

At  the  Mercy  of  Tiberius.     Augusta  Evans  Wilson. 

At  Sight  of  Gold.     Cynthia  LombardL 

Auction  Block,  The.     Rex  Beach. 

Aunt  Jane  of  Kentucky.    Eliza  C.  Hall. 

Awakening  of  Helena  Ritchie.     Margaret  Deland. 

Bab:  a  Sub-Deb.    Mary  Roberts  Rinehart. 

Bar  20.     Clarence  E.  Mulford. 

Bar  20  Days.    Clarence  E.  Mulford. 

Bar-20  Three.     Clarence  E.  Mulford. 

Barrier,  The.    Rex  Beach. 

Bars  of  Iron,  The.     Ethel  M.  DelL 

Bat  Wing.     Sax  Rohmer. 

Beasts  of  Tarzan,  The.    Edgar  Rice  Burroughs. 

Beautiful  and  Damned,  The.    F.  Scott  Fitzgerald. 

Beauty.    Rupert  Hughes. 

Behind  Locked  Doors.    Ernest  M.  Poate. 

Bella  Donna.    Robert  Hichens.  (Photoplay  Ed.), 

Beloved  Traitor,  The.    Frank  L.  Packard. 

Beloved  Vagabond,  The.    Wm.  J.  Locke. 

Beloved  Woman,  The.    Kathleen  Norris. 

Beltane  the  Smith.    Jeffery  Farnol. 

Betrayal,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Beyond  the  Frontier.    Randall  Parrish. 

Big  Timber.    Bertrand  W.  Sinclair. 

Black  63X116907*8  Treasure.    Jeffery  Farnol. 

Black  Buttes.    Clarence  E.  Mulford. 


AT      A      POPULAR      PRICE 

Black  Cssar's  Clan.     Albert  Payson  Terhune. 

Black  Gold.     Albert  Payson  Terhune. 

Black  Is  White.    George  Barr  McCutcheon. 

Black  Oxen.     Gertrude  Athcrton.     (Photoplay  Ed.). 

Blue  Circle,  The.     Elizabeth  Jordan. 

Bob,  Son  of  Battle.    Alfred  Olivant. 

Box  With  Broken  Seals,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Brandon  of  the  Engineers.    Harold  Bindloss. 

Breaking  Point,  The.     Mary  Roberts  Rinehart. 

Bridge  of  Kisses.    Berta  Ruck. 

Bring  Me  His  Ears,    Clarence  E.  Mulford. 

Broad  Highway,  The.    Jeffery  Farnol. 

Broken  Barriers.     Meredith  Nicholson. 

Brown  Study,  The.     Grace  S.  Richmond. 

Buck  Peters,  Ranchman.    Clarence  E.  Mulford. 

Bush-Rancher,  The.     Harold  Bindloss. 

Cabbages  and  Kings.    O.  Henry. 
Cabin  Fever.    B.  M.  Bower. 

Calling  of  Dan  Matthews,  The.    Harold  Bell  Wright, 
Cape  Cod  Stories.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 
Cap'n  Dante  Daughter.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 
Cap'n  Eri.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 
Cap'n  Warren's  Wards.    Joseph  C  Lincoln. 
Camac's  Folly.     Gilbert  Parker. 
Cafs  Paw,  The.    Natalie  Sumner  Lincoln. 
Cattle.    Winnifred  Eaton. 

Certain  People  of  Importance.    Kathleen  Norris. 
Chief  Legatee,  The.     Anna  Katharine  Green. 
Cinema  Murder,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 
City  of  Lilies,  The.    Anthony  Pryde  and  R.  K.  Weehea. 
City  of  Peril,  The.    Arthur  Stringer. 
Clipped  Wings.     Rupert  Hughes. 
Clue  of  the  New  Pin,  The.    Edgar  Wallace. 
Colorado  Jim.     George  Goodchild. 
Coming  of  Cassidy,  The.     Clarence  E.  Mulford. 
Coming  of  the  Law,  The.     Chas.  A.  Seltzer. 
Communicating  Door,  The.    Wadsworth  Camp. 
Comrades  of  Peril.     Randall  Parnsh. 
Conquest  of  Canaan,  The.     Booth  Tarkington. 
Contraband.     Clarence  Budington   Kelland. 
Court  of  Inquiry,  A.   Grace  S.  Richmond. 
Crimson  Blotter,  The-    Isabel  Ostrander 
Crimson    Gardenia,  The,    and   Other  Tales   of   Adventure. 
Rex  Beach, 


THE  BEST  OF  RECENT  FICTION 

Crimson  Tide,  The.    Robert  W.  Chambers. 
Cross  Currents.    Author  of  "Pollyanna." 
Cross  Pull,  The.    Hal  G.  Evarts. 
Cry  in  the  Wflderness,  A.    Mary  E.  Waller. 
Cry  of  Youth,  A.     Cynthia  Lombardi. 
Cup  of  Fury,  The.     Rupert  Hughes. 
Curious  Quest,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheira, 
Curved  Blades,  The.    Carolyn  Wells. 
Cytherea.    Joseph  Hergesheimer. 

Damsel  in  Distress,  A.  Pelham  G.  Wodehouse. 

Dancing  .Star,  The.    Berta  Ruck. 

Danger  and  Other  .Stories.    A.  Conan  Doyle. 

Dark  Hollow.    Anna  Katharine  Green. 

Daughter  Pays,  The.    Mrs.  Baillie  Reynolds. 

Depot  Master,  The.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Desert  Healer,  The.    E.  M.  Hull. 

Destroying  Angel,  The.  Louis  Joseph  Vance.  (Photoplay  Ed.)« 

Devil's  Paw,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Diamond  Thieves,  The.    Arthur  Stringer. 

Disturbing  Charm,  The.     Berta  Ruck. 

Dormegan.    George  Owen  Baxter. 

Door  of  Dread,  The.    Arthur  Stringer. 

Doors  of  the  Night.    Frank  L.  Packard, 

Dope.    Sax  Rohmer. 

Double  Traitor,  The.    TL.  Phillips  Oppenheim, 

Dust  of  the  Desert.    Robert  Welles  Ritchie, 

Empty  Hands.    Arthur  Stringer. 

Empty  Pockets.    Rupert  Hughes. 

Empty  Sack,  The.    Basil  King. 

Enchanted  Canyon.     Honore  Wfllsie. 

Enemies  of  Women.    V.  B.  Ibanez.  (Photoplay  Ed). 

Eria    Robert  W.  Chambers. 

Erskine  Dale,  Pioneer.    John  Fox,  Jr. 

Evil  Shepherd,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

jSxtricating  Obadiah.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Eye  of  Zeitoon,  The.     Talbot  Mundy. 

Eyes  of  the  Blind.    Arthur  Somers  Roche, 

Eyes  of  the  World.    Harold  Bell  Wright 

Fair  Harbor.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 
Family.     Wayland  Wells  Williams. 
Fathoms  Deep.    Elizabeth  Stancy  Payne. 
Feast  of  the  Lanterns*    Louise  Gordon  Milri. 
Righting  Chance,  The.    Robert  W.  Chambers. 


AT      A       POPULAR      PRICE 

—•»••—••• 

Fighting  Shepherdess,  The.    Caroline  Lockhart 

Financier,  The.     Theodore  Dreiser. 

Fire  Tongue.     Sax  Rohmer. 

Flaming  Jewel,  The.     Robert  W.  Chambers. 

Flowing  Gold.     Rex  Beach. 

Forbidden  Trail,  The.     Honore  Willsie. 

Forfeit,  The.     Ridgwell  Cullum. 

Four  Million,  The.     O.  Henry. 

Foursquare.     Grace  S.  Richmond. 

Four  Stragglers,  The.     Frank  L.  Packard. 

Free  Range  Lanning.     George   Owen  Baxter. 

From  Now  On.     Frank  L.  Packard. 

Fur5  Bringers,  The.     Hulbert  Footner. 

Further  Adventures  of  Jimmie  Dale.    Frank  L.  Packard, 

Galusha  the  Magnificent.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Gaspards  of  Pine  Croft,  The.     Ralph  Connor. 

Gay  Year,  The.     Dorothy  Speare. 

Gift  of  the  Desert.     Randall   Parrish. 

Girl  in  the  Mirror,  The.     Elizabeth  Jordan. 

Girl  from  Kellers,  The.     Harold  Bindloss. 

Girl  Philippa,  The.     Robert  W.   Chambers. 

Girls  at  His  Billet,  The.     Berta  Ruck. 

GloryJ  Rides  the  Range.     Ethel  and  James  Dorrance. 

God's  Country  and  the  Woman.     James  Oliver  Curwood. 

God's  Good  Man.     Marie  Correlli. 

Going  Some.     Rex  Beach. 

Gold  Girl,  The.     James   B.  Hendryx. 

Gold-Killer.     John   Prosper. 

Golden  Scorpion,  The.     Sax  Rohmer. 

Golden  Slipper,  The.     Anna  Katherine  Green. 

Golden  Woman,  The.     Ridgwell  Cullum. 

Gray  Phantom,  The.     Herman  Landon. 

Gray  Phantom's  Return,  The.     Herman  Landon. 

Great  Impersonation,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Great  Prince  Shan,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Greater  Love  Hath   No  Man.     Frank  L.  Packard. 

Green  Eyes  of  Bast,  The.     Sax  Rohmer. 

Green  Goddess,  The.     Louise  Jordan  Miln.     (Photoplay  Ed.). 

Greyfriars  Bobby.     Eleanor  Atkinson. 

Gun  Brand,  The.     James  B.  Hendryx. 

Gun  Runner,  The.     Arthur  Stringer. 

Guns  of  the  Gods.    Talbot  Mundy. 

Hand  of  Fu-Manchu,  The.     Sax  Rohmer. 

Hand  ox  Peril.  The.    Arthur  Stringer. 


THE   BEST   OF   RECENT   FICTION 

Harbor  Road,  The.    Sara  Ware  Bassett. 

Harriet  and  the  Piper.    Kathleen  Norris. 

Havoc.     E.   Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Head  of  the   House  of   Coombe,  The.      Frances    Hodgson 

Burnett 

Heart  of  the  Desert,  The.    Honore  Willsie. 
Heart  of  the  Hills,  The.    John  Fox,  Jr. 
Heart  of  the  Range,  The.    William  Patterson  White. 
Heart  of  the  Sunset.     Rex  Beach. 
Heart  of  Unaga,  The.     Ridgwell  Cullum. 
Helen  of  the  Old  House.     Harold  Bell  WrighU 
Hidden  Places,  The.    Bertrand  W.  Sinclair. 
Hidden  Trails.     William  Patterson  White. 
Hillman,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 
Hira  Singh.     Talbot  Mundy. 
His  Last  Bow.    A.  Co  nan  Doyle. 
His  Official  Fiancee*     Berta  Ruck. 
Homeland.    Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 
Homestead  Ranch.     Elizabeth  G.  Young. 
Honor  of  the  Big  Snows.     James  Oliver  Curwood. 
Hopalong  Cassidy.     Clarence  E.  Mulford. 
Hound  from  the  North,  The.    Ridgwell  Cullum. 
House  of  the  Whispering  Pines,  The.  Anna  Katharine  Green. 
Humoresque,    (Fannie  Hurst. 
Illustrious  Prince,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 
In  Another  Girl's  Shoes.    Berta  Ruck. 
Indifference  of  Juliet,  The.    Grace  S.  Richmond. 
Infelice.     Augusta  Evans  Wilson. 
Initials  Only.    Anna  Katharine  Green. 
Innocent.    Marie  Corelli. 

Innocent  Adventuress,  The.     Mary  Hastings  Bradley. 
Insidious  Dr.  Fu-Manchu,  The.    Sax  Rohmer. 
In  the  Brooding  Wild.    Ridgwell  Cullum. 
In  the  Onyx  Lobby.    Carolyn  Wells. 
Iron  Trail,  The.    Rex  Beach. 
Iron  Woman,  The.    Margaret  Deland. 
Ishmael.     (111.)     Mrs.  Southworth. 
Isle  of  Retribution.     Edison  Marshall. 
I've  Married  Marjorie.     Margaret  Widdemer. 
Ivory  Trail,  The.    Talbot  Mundy. 

acob's  Ladder.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

can  of  the  Lazy  A.    B.  M.  Bower. 

eanne  of  the  Marshes.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

eeves.     P.  G.  Wodehouse. 


AT      A      POPU  L'AR      PRICE 

Jimmie  Dale  and  the  Phantom  Clew.    Frank  L.  Packard. 

Johnny  Nelson.    Clarence  E.  Mulford. 

Joseph   Greet  and  His  Daughter.     Henry  Kitchell  Webster. 

Judith  of  the  Godless  Valley.  Honore  Willsie. 

Keeper  of  the  Door,  The.    Ethel  M.  Dell. 

Keith   of  the  Border.     Randall  Parrish. 

Kent  Knowles:  Quahaug.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Kilmeny  of  the  Orchard.     L.  M.  Montgomery. 

Kingdom  of  the  Blind,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

King  of  Kearsarge.    Arthur  O.  Friel. 

King  of  the  Khyber  Rifles.     Talbot  Mundy. 

King  Spruce.     Holman  Day. 

Knave  of  Diamonds,  The.    Ethel  M.  DelL 

Land-Girl's  Love  Story,  A.    Eerta  Ruck. 

Land  of  Strong  Men,  The.     A.  M.  Chisholm. 

Laramie  Holds  the  Range.     Frank  H.  Spearman. 

Last  Trail,  The.     Z  ne   Grey. 

Laughing  Bill  Hyde.     Rex  Beach. 

Laughing  Girl,  The.     Robert  W.  Chambers. 

Law  Breakers,  The.    Ridg-well  Cullum. 

Law  of  the  Gun,  The.    Ridgwell  Cullum. 

Leavenworth  Case,  The.    Anna  Katherine  Green.   (Photoplay 

Edition). 

Light  That  Failed,  The.     Rudyard  Kipling.  (Photoplay  Ed.). 
Lighted  Way,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim, 
Lin  McLean.    Owen  Wister. 
Lister's  Great  Adventure.    Harold  Bindloss. 
Little   Moment  of   Happiness,    The.      Clarence     Budington 

Kelland. 

Little  Red  Foot,  The.     Robert  W.  Chambers. 
Little  Warrior,  The.    Pelham  Grenville  Wodehouse. 
Lonely  Warrior,  The.     Claude  C.  Washburn. 
Lonesome  Land.    B.  M.  Bower. 
Lone  Wolf,  The.    Louis  Joseph  Vance. 
Long  Live   the   King.     Mary   Roberts  Rmehart.   (Photoplay 

Edition). 

Lost  Ambassador.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 
Lost  Discovery,  The.    Baillie  Reynolds. 
Lost  Prince,  The.    Frances  Hodgson  Burnett. 
Lost  World,  The.     A.  Conan  Doyle. 
Luck  of  the  Kid,  The.    Ridgwell  Cullum. 
Lucretia  Lombard,  Kathleen  Norris. 
Luminous  Face,  The.    Carolyn  Wells. 
Lydia  of  the  Pine»      Honore  Willsie. 


THE   BEST   OF   RECENT   FICTION 

"Lynch  Lawyers.    William  Patterson  White; 

McCarty  Incog.    Isabel  Ostrander. 

Major,  The.    Ralph  Connor. 

Maker  of  History,  A.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Malefactor,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Man  and  Maid.    Elinor  Glyn. 

Man  from  Bar  20,  The.    'Clarence  E.  Mulford, 

Man  from  the  Bitter  Roots,  The.    Caroline  Lockfaart. 

Man  in  the  Moonlight,  The.    Rupert  S.  Holland. 

Man  in  the  Twilight,  The.     Ridgwell  Cullmn. 

Man  Killers,  The.     Dane  Coolidge. 

Man  Who  Couldn't  Sleep,  The.    Arthur  Stringer. 

Man's  Country.     Peter  Clark  Macfarlane. 

Marqueray's  Duel.     Anthony  Pryde. 

Martin  Conisby's  Vengeance.    Jeffery  FarnoL 

Mary-Gusta.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Mary  Wollaston.    Henry  Kitchell  Webster. 

Mason  of  Bar  X  Ranch.    H.  Bennett. 

Master  of  Man.    Hall  Caine. 

Master  Mummer,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Memoirs  of  Sherlock  Holmes.    A  Conan  Doyle. 

Men  Who  Wrought;  The.    Ridgrwell  Cullum. 

Meredith  Mystery,  The.     Natalie  Sumner  Lincoln. 

Midnight  of  the  Ranges.     George  Gilbert. 

Mine  with  the  Iron  Door,  The.    Harold  Bell  Wright. 

Mischief  Maker,  The.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Mlssioner,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Miss  Million's  Maid.    Berta  Ruck. 

Money,  Love  and  Kate.    Eleanor  H.  Porter, 

Money  Master,  The.    Gilbert  Parker. 

Money  Moon,  Theu     Jeffery  Farnol. 

Moonlit  Way,  The.     Robert  W.  Chambers. 

More  Limehottse  Nights.    Thomas  Burke. 

More  TisJi.     Mary  Roberts  Rinehart. 

Moreton  Mystery,  The.     Elizabeth  Dejeans. 

Mr.  and  Mrs,  Sen.    Louise  Jordan  Miln. 

Mr.  Grex  of  Monte  Carlo*    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Mr.  Pratt.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Mr.  Pratt's  Patients.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Mrs.  Red  Pepper.     Grace  S.  Richmond. 

Mr.  Wu.    Louise  Jordan  Miln. 

My  Lady  of  the  Norm.    Randall  Patn'sH. 

My  Lady  of  the  South.    Randall  Parish. 

Mystery  Girl,  The.    Carolyn  Wells. 


ATI      POPULAR      PRICK 

Mystery  of  the  Hasty  Arrow,  The.     Anna  K.  Green. 

Mystery  of  the  Silver  Dagger,  The.    Randall  Parrish. 

Nameless  River.     Vingie  E.  Roe. 

Ne'er-Do- Well,  The.     Rex  Beach.  (Photoplay  Ed  ) 

Net,  The.     Rex  Beach. 

Never  Fafl  Blake.    Arthur  Stringer. 

Next  Corner,  The.     Kate  Jordan. 

Nightfall.    Anthony  Pryde. 

Night  Horseman,  The.     Max  Brand. 

Night  of  the  Wedding,  The.     C.  N.  and  A.  M.  Williamson. 

Night  Operator,  The.     Frank  L.  Packard. 

Night  Riders,  The.     Ridgwell  Cullura. 

JJine  Unknown,  The.     Talbot  Mundy. 

Nobody's  Man.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

No  Defence.     Gilbert  Parker. 

North.    James  B.  Hendryx. 

Obstacle  Race,  The.     Ethel  M.  BelL 

Odds.    Ethel  M.  Dell. 

Old  Misery.     Hugh  Pendexter. 

Omoo.     Herman  Melville. 

One  Thing  Is  Certain.    Sophie  Kerr. 

One-Way  Trail,  The.    Ridgwell  Cullum. 

Ordeal  of  Honor,  An.    Anthony  Pryde. 

Outlaw,  The.     Jackson  Gregory. 

Owner  of  the  Lazy  D.    William  Patterson  White. 

Panelled  Room,  The.     Rupert  Sargent  Holland. 

Paradise  Bend.    William  Patterson  White. 

Pardners,     Rex  Beach. 

Partnsrs  of  the  Tide.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Patricia  Brent,   Spinster.     Anonymous. 

Patrol  of  the  Sun  Dance  Trail,  The.     Ralph  Connor. 

Paul  Anthony,  Christian.     Hiram  W.  Hayes. 

Pawned.     Frank  L.  Packard. 

Pawns  Count,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Pay  Gravel.    Hugh  Pendexter. 

Peacemakers,  The.     Hiram  W.  Hayes. 

Peregrine's  Progress.     Je  fiery  Far  noil. 

Peter  Ruff  and  the  Double  Four.    E.  Phillips  Oppenheim, 

Phantom  Wires.     Arthur  Stringer. 

Pointed  Tower,  The.    Vance  Thompson. 

Pollyanna;  "The  Glad  Book."    Eleanor  H.  Porter.  (Lim.  Ed.). 

Trade  Mark— Trade-Mark. 
Poor  Man's  Rock.     Bertrand  W.  Sinclair. 
Poor  Wise  Man,  A.     Mary  Roberts  Rinehart. 


THE   BEST   OF   RECENT   FICTION 

Poisoned  Paradise,  The.  Robert  W.  Service.  (Photoplay  Ed.). 

Portygee,    The.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Possession.    Olive  Wadsley. 

Postmaster,  The.    Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Prairie  Child,  The.     Arthur  Stringer. 

Prairie  Flowers.    James  B.  Hendryx. 

Prairie  Mother,  The.     Arthur  Stringer. 

Prairie  Wife,  The.     Arthur  Stringer. 

Pretender,  The.     Robert  W.  Service. 

Prince  of  Sinners,  A.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Prodigal  Daughters,  The.    Joseph  Hocking.  (Photoplay  Ed./. 

Prodigal  Son.     Hall  Caine.     (Photoplay  Ed.). 

Profiteers,  The.     E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

Promise,  The.    J.  B.  Hendryx. 

Public  Square,  The.    Will  Levington  Comfort 

Purple  Mask,  The.     Louise  Jordan  Miln. 

Purple  Pearl,  The.    Anthony  Pryde. 

Quemado.    William  West  Winter. 

Quest  of  the  Sacred  Slipper,  The.    Sax  Rohmer. 

Quill's  Window.    George  Barr  McCutcheon. 

Rainbow's  End,  The.     Rex  Beach. 

Rainbow  Valley.     L.  M.  Montgomery. 

Ramshackle  House.     Hulbert  Footner. 

Ranch  at  the  Wolverine,  The.    B.  M.  Bower. 

Ranching  for  Cylvia.     Harold  Bindloss. 

Rangy  Pete.  Guy  Morton. 

Raspberry  Jam.    Carolyn  Wells. 

Reclaimers,  The.     Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

Re-Creation  of  Brian  Kent,  The,     Harold  Bell  Wright 

Red  and  Black.     Grace   S.   Richmond. 

Red  Pepper  Burns,    Grace  S.  Richmond. 

Red  Pepper's  Patients.    Grace  S.  Richmond. 

Red  Seal,  The.     Natalie  Sumner  Lincoln. 

Restless  Sex,  The.     Robert  W.  Chambers. 

Return  of  Dr.  Fu-Manchu,  The.     Sax  Rohmer. 

Return  of  Frank  Clamart,  The.     Henry  C.  Rowland. 

Return  of  Tarzan  The.     Edgar  Rice  Burroughs. 

Riddle  of  the  Frozen  Flame  The,    M.  E.  and  T.  W.  Hanshew. 

Riddle  of  the  Mysterious   Light   The.     M.    E.   and   T.    W. 

Hanshew. 
Riddle  of  the   Purple  Emperor  The.      M.    E.    and   T.    W. 

Hanshew. 
Riddle    of   the   Spinning    Wheel,   The.     M.    E.    and    T.    W. 

Hanshew. 


UCSB   LIBRARY 


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